Enter The Magician
by Digimon Lantern 1
Summary: YAHF Gender-Bender Xander's choice of costume causes him to disappear Halloween night.
1. Changes

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR DC COMICS. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND I THINK DC COMICS OWNS ITSELF.*****

Enter The Magician

By:

Digimon Lantern 1

Chapter 1

Changes

Xander stared at the items on display in the costume shop after having the last toy rifle be taken by some kid. Thanks to some kid, his Halloween costume was just blown out of the water. He was about to leave the shop when the shop owner stepped up from behind him.

"Anything I can do for you, young man?" He asked with a smile on his face.

Xander jerked away. "Don't do that." He said.

"I'm sorry, young man." The owner said. "My name is Ethan Rayne and I've noticed that you seem to be in a sort of funk about something."

"I was planning on going as a soldier for Halloween but that just flew out the window." Xander said wondering why he was confessing this to the owner.

"You honestly don't want to go as a soldier, young man." Ethan informed him. "I've sold dozens of soldier items and I highly doubt that you merely want to be just a grunt this Halloween."

"Well, no." Xander replied. "But I don't exactly have much in the way of cash which is why I was going to just by a gun here and use some old fatigues I had at home."

"Nonsense, my boy." Ethan said. "I have just the thing for you in the back."

Xander followed the owner into the back where he saw a black tuxedo suit was on a display that hadn't been out. Ethan then pulled out a hat box which he set down on a table. The shop owner opened it to reveal a magician's top hat and wand which Xander picked up. He shook his head and put the hat and wand back into the box.

"I can't afford this." Xander said a little disappointed.

"Nonsense, who said I was going to charge you for these items?" He asked. "You need a proper costume and these items will give you one. I'm not going to charge you. I'll even let you have this tuxedo to go with it."

"Okay, I'll take it." Xander replied.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Zatanna Zatara stood in the middle of the street a little confused. She knew she'd have to get in contact with the Watchtower as that was the last place she had been and for her to have been teleported here during a meeting would raise quite a bit of fuss.

".rewothctaW eht ot em ekaT" She said transporting herself away before a certain redheaded ghost could see her.

She materialized in the Watchtower to see several people she knew charge at her as if she was the enemy.

"!potS" She exclaimed.

Ironically, Batman was not one of those who had charged at her. While her voice may have sounded different, the way she said her spell told him exactly who she was.

"Zatanna, you fell unconscious during the meeting we were having and you were taken to the infirmary." Batman informed her.

Zatanna's eyes widened with the news. She had realized that something strange had happened but to realize she wasn't in her own body anymore. A weak smile formed on her.

"I guess I should be heading there too." She informed them before proceeding down the halls.

Thoughts raced through her mind as she wondered who she was possessing and how was it possible. She thought she detected the use of chaos magic but she wasn't sure. Dealing with the forces of Chaos wasn't her expertise but rather Doctor Fate's own field. Hopefully, they called in the good Doctor to help. This was starting to give her a headache.

"It's nice to see you up and about, so to speak." Dr. Fate said to her as she entered the infirmary.

"I'd be nice if I knew why I'm literally in two places at once." Zatanna said gesturing over to her prone form on one of the infirmary's beds. "The only time I've managed this trick is in my act."

She sat down on the bed next to herself and contemplated the circumstances that she was in. Another thought crossed her mind and it frightened her. Zatanna looked over at Doctor Fate.

"What about the person who wore this costume?" She asked taking off the top hat. Her eyes widened as she noticed the embroidered name within it. "This was my hat. I've had a few of them stolen from me over the years. A few of them I've recovered but some where lost even to me."

"Due to the fact that the mage who cast this spell invoked the chaos god, Janus, and your own magical nature, I'm afraid that while the changes to the other costumed individuals will be temporary but not to the person who wore your hat." Doctor Fate explained. "I'm afraid that the change will be permanent."

Before she could respond, she felt the sting of a needle as she realized that someone had given her a sedative. It was probably a good thing as she had been to feel the effects of the spell begin to lift.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Zatanna, how are you feeling?" Doctor Fate asked as the magician woke up back in control of her own body.

"Better but what about..." She began to ask as she gazed at the teenage girl who bore a striking resemblance to her.

"Sleeping peacefully and a meeting has been called to discuss the matter." Doctor Fate informed her. "I was asked to bring you there if you felt up to it."

She shrugged. "Might as well." She replied getting to her feet. Zatanna turned to look at one of the attending nurses on duty. "Please inform me if the patient awakes."

The nurse nodded and Zatanna followed Doctor Fate to the main briefing room. Despite some misconceptions about the League, certain briefing could be sat in on by anyone interested. When seating became a problem however, then the advantages of useful knowledge of the situation and seniority kicked in. She saw Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash (Wally West), J'onn J'onzz, Doctor Fate, Kyle Rayner, and Black Canary. Sitting down next to Doctor Fate, Batman got up to start the meeting.

"I apologize for waking some of you and asking you to come to this meeting but the subject matter is rather grave." Batman stated to them before a driver's license photo appeared on a screen. "This is Alexander Lavelle Harris, age 17 and—."

"Crap, what is he gonna do?" Kyle asked. "Does he have some kind of freaky doomsday weapon that going to reverse everyone on the planet's gender so that there's going to be mass confusion? Or has he made a pact with a hell god to gain great and unspeakable power or—."

"Kyle!" Zatanna exclaimed. "This is no time to joke."

"Who's joking?" Wally asked. "Batman calls me up late at night with his typical 'the shit has hit the fan' tone of voice and tells me that something's happened. I'm half-expecting a new Legion of Doom headed by Darkseid, Brainiac, the Anti-Montior, Mongul, Lex Luthor, the Joker whose mind somehow got put inside Doomsday, and Clock King to attack."

Kyle glared at Wally. "All those villains and you throw in _Clock King_!" He said with a little disgust.

Batman ignored the childish banter and pressed a button on his console changing the display to a camera overlooking the patient's bed in the infirmary. It stopped their banter as both men looked at the teenage girl on the screen.

"Okay, cute teenage girl, what's the deal?" Kyle asked.

"From what I was able to gather, this is Alexander Harris." Batman answered.

This caused a few people's eyes to widen with surprise. Kyle seemed a bit more surprised by it than the rest since he'd mentioned gender reversal. Doctor Fate stood up to continue the briefing.

"From details I obtained from the victim's mind, he had obtained what was suppose to be a magician's costume from a costume shop." Doctor Fate explained. "I've been able to detect the faint remnants of chaos magic on both the victim and Zatanna and that is how he was changed into his current state."

"But why would Zatanna have chaos magic on her?" Dinah asked. "Has she ever been to Sunnydale, California before?"

"No, I haven't been to his hometown before unless you count what happened tonight." Zatanna answered her. "Part of his costume was a top hat that was stolen from one of my shows a few years ago. I honestly didn't think much about it until now."

"The top hat though was the focal point of the former young man's transformation." Batman continued bringing up a pair of holograms in the center of the table. "The DNA on the left is Harris's original DNA obtained from a hair sample. The DNA on the right is from his newly transformed body."

Zatanna paled as she saw the holograms flash at genetic differences between the two strands of DNA. Batman, of course, knew why she was shocked.

"Genetically speaking of course, the young man is now Zatanna's daughter." Batman informed the group.

Before anyone could react, three of their number got out of their chairs and walked out of the room. They were a bit confused until they received a telepathic message from J'onn.

We'll be back with the shop owner.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The three members of the Justice League known to the world at large as Green Lantern, Flash, and the Martian Manhunter materialized in the middle of a deserted street in Sunnydale. They were about to attempt to locate the costume shop when a loud explosion rocked the street as a gas station exploded with a fiery fury. Rushing there, the trio saw a teenager clad in a blue version of Green Arrow's costume fighting what looked like a gang. The teen fired an arrow into the chest of one of his attackers which somehow caused the attacker to burst into a cloud of dust. When another of his attackers got too close, the teen quickly grabbed an arrow from his quiver and stabbed it into the attacker's chest for the same reaction. Reaching a hand back to his quiver, the teen's eyes widened as he realized he was out of arrows.

"Out of arrows, blue boy." One of the attackers, obviously the leader, said. "What are you going to do now?" The attacker revealed himself to be a vampire as he let his demon out.

"Call for help." The teen said with a weak smile.

"Doubt you'll get it." The vampire said.

A blur of red enveloped the vampire gang and all but the leader burst into clouds of dust before the Flash came to a stop next to the teenager. A smile was plastered on the face of the scarlet speedster.

"I've always wanted to do that." Wally said to the vampire.

The teen's eyes widened as the Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter landed near him. A green arrow construct was made by Green Lantern and handed to the blue clad teen who took it in his hand. He notched the arrow and pointed the bow towards the vampire. The vampire looked on in disbelief at what he was seeing.

"What can I say?" The teen asked. "I like to get to the point."

The arrow construct proved to work as the vampire was dusted and the teen's confident persona faded as the teen became a quivering mess.

"I can't believe how weird this night's been." He said. "First, I have to get a discounted Halloween costume because Larry took my money then the next thing I know I'm being chased by a bunch of freaking vampires. I feel like I need to scream."

"Go ahead." Wally said to the kid.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The kid screamed.

What was quite unexpected was the normal scream to suddenly shift into a Canary Scream and Kyle acted quickly by forming a gag construct to cover the kid's mouth. Wally shook his head.

"Better yet, don't." Wally informed the kid who nodded.

"Where did you get your costume, young man?" J'onn asked. "We've already had one of our number effected by a spell cast in this town."

"A costume shop called Ethan's." The teen told them. "Some dye fell onto mine during shipping which is why I got my costume pretty cheap there."

"You should probably come with us unless you want to try to explain to the cops how you blew up a gas station with a bow and arrow." Kyle said with a small grin on his face as he realized the strangeness of what he said.

The kid's shoulders sagged with resignation and they were able to reach in record time. They saw a middle-aged man trying to pack and before the seasoned heroes could stop him, the teen let out a modulated Canary Scream that sent the man to the ground knocking him out. A construct similar to the restraints that Hannibal Lector wore in Silence Of The Lambs formed on the man and Wally took out his communicator.

"Flash to Watchtower, five to beam up." He said into the communicator.

They teleported up to the Watchtower where the blue clad teen fainted. J'onn looked over to one of the attendants.

"Take him to the infirmary and run the same genetic tests that Batman performed on the other patient." He ordered them.

"Well, I hope no one dressed like me." Kyle said as they walked back to the briefing room with the mage in tow.

Several Months Later...

The young woman with dark hair sat down in a chair backstage after she'd finally completed her act. She looked up to see her mother dressed up in the same outfit that she also wore clapping her hands.

"You did great, Zarina." Zatanna said to her daughter. "The crowds just ate you up in your last three shows."

"You really think so, Mom?" Zarina asked with a smile. "I kinda lost control when I went to the card tricks."

Zatanna waved a finger at her daughter. "But the way you turned the cards into fifty two doves that you had land before you and then turned them back into cards was brilliant." She praised her. "Don't run yourself down like that."

"Just trying not to be like Zachary, that's all." Zarina said with a laugh. "I swear if his head got any bigger he'd be able to float away."

Before Zatanna could reply, a beeping sound came from Zarina's hat. The teenage magician reached into her top hat to pull out her communicator and flipped it open.

"Zarina here, what's up?" She asked speaking into the communicator.

"Hey Z, Blue Bowman here." Blue Bowman said to her. "I'm in Boston trying to save a Slayer from a really old master vampire named Kakistos or Tostistos or something and I could use some help."

"On it, Jon." She said hanging up the communicator. "Sorry, Mom. Jon ran into some trouble in Boston and needs help."

"Don't worry about it." Zatanna said placing her daughter's top hat back on her head. "Be safe."

"I will." Zarina said stepping back a bit. ".namwoB eluB eht ot em ekaT"

She appeared in a warehouse only to have an arrow fly towards her head. A quick wave of her hand deflected the arrow into a crate and she saw the blue-clad archer who fired the shot. He wore a look of surprise on his face when he realized who she was.

"I'm sorry." He said apologizing. "Please don't turn me into a rabbit."

"Have I ever done that to you before?" She asked.

"No, but I have seen you do it to others." Blue Bowman answered.

"Point, so where's this Slayer?" She asked.

"Follow me." Blue Bowman said.

They ran out of the warehouse and down the street towards a graveyard where what looked like an army of vampires had surrounded two people. One was an older brunette in her late thirties and the other though was a teenage girl with brown hair. From the stake in the teenager's hand, it was clear that she was the Slayer in question.

"We live for Kakistos! We die for Kakistos!" The vampires chanted.

Blue Bowman turned his head to Zarina. "Think you can generate sunlight?" He asked.

"!thgilnuS" She exclaimed.

An artificial sphere of sunlight formed in her hand and Blue Bowman held out a standard arrow which the sphere somehow was able to be attached to. He notched the arrow and stood up taking aim at Kakistos.

"Sorry, care to take a rain check?" He asked with a smile as he fired the arrow.

The arrow struck Kakistos in the forehead destroying the master vampire as the artificial sunlight burnt any nearby vampires into fleeing. Zarina and Blue Bowman ran over to the Watcher and the Slayer.

"Hey, you two okay?" Blue Bowman asked.

"Five by five, blue boy." The slayer replied.

"I'm alright, young man." The Watcher said. "If I might ask, how did your arrow destroy Kakistos?"

Zarina smiled. "Helps if you attach an artificial sphere of sunlight to it." She informed the Watcher.

An eyebrow arched on the Watcher's face as she got a better look at Zarina. "I believe I recognize you." She said. "Zarina Zatara, Mini-Mistress of Magic."

A surprised look on the face of the Slayer formed and she seemed to get quite excited. "I don't fucking believe it." The Slayer exclaimed. "Diana took me to the show you and your mom did here last month. You were fucking awesome."

"Faith, language." Diana admonished her charge.

"It's quite alright, Mam." Zarina said taking off her top hat. She reached into it and pulled out a picture of her and a Sharpie. Zarina wrote on the picture before handing it to Faith who became overly excited when she received the picture. "I love meeting a fan."

"Come along, Faith." Diana said walking away.

"Bye, Zarina." Faith said before following her Watcher.

Walking away as well, Zarina and Blue Bowman walked out of the graveyard. They proceeded down the street to see a local fast food restaurant being robbed by a lone gunman. Blue Bowman pulled out a bola trick arrow and fired it at the robber. The robber was quickly bound up by the arrow and Zarina walked up to the window, stepping onto the back of the unfortunate robber.

"Okay, I'll have a deluxe cheeseburger, large order of onion rings, and a Large Coke." She said turning to look at Blue Bowman. "Anything for you?"

"Number Six with a chocolate shake." He replied as a Boston squad car stopped with its two occupants getting out. "I think you can get off of him, Zee."

Zarina got off of the robber and paid for the order. She sat down with the order at a table as Blue Bowman sat down at the table. Before taking a bite of her cheeseburger, she laughed at the sapphire archer.

"You do know that this is going to appear in gossip columns, don't you?" She asked him. "It's not like they're going to believe we're just friends."

Shaking his head, he responded. "I know but what are they suppose to suspect. When do two superhero teens ever have dinner that it isn't considered a date?"

"Point but you need to get into a relationship." Zarina said to him.

"God, you sound like Mom." He replied.

"How is she, anyway?" Zarina asked.

A look of realization washed over his face. "Oh crap, I was suppose to get back to hotel after I took care of Kakistos." He said. "Mom's gonna kill me."

"Kill you?" Zarina replied. "No. Make you wish you were dead, probably."

Blue Bowman ran off and the teenage magician finished up her meal. She threw the trash out and walked into a deserted alley.

".moM ot kcab em ekaT" She said teleporting to her mother's location.

Zarina teleported into their hotel room to see her mother as well as Doctor Fate were talking about something. She knocked on the wall.

"I'm back, Mom." Zarina said. "Hello, Doctor."

"How did it go?" Zatanna asked.

"Rather easy. I created a sphere of artificial sunlight that Blue Bowman attached to an arrow which he shot into Kakistos' head." She explained. "We then stopped for a couple of burgers to celebrate. Funny thing, the Slayer in Boston is a fan. Why do you have that look that you have something you need to talk to me about?"

Taking a step forward, Fate said. "Jason had come across information about your hometown. The Mayor of Sunnydale seems to have sold his soul for immortality."

Zarina smiled. "So he's just as evil as almost all other politicians that you hear about." She replied.

"He's also seems to be planning an ascension ceremony that could kill a lot of people." Doctor Fate informed her. "If he succeeds, many people could die."

"What do you need me to do?" She asked thinking she already knew the answer.

"I know this will be hard but your old friends in Sunnydale will need you now." Doctor Fate told her. "You could save many lives."

"Okay." Zarina responded. "When do I leave?"

"I took the liberty of acquiring a very nice house for you to live in while you're staying there." Doctor Fate informed her. "The house will have the most powerful wards placed upon it to ensure your safety and it will also have portals that will connect it to the Library of Infinity and Shadowcrest. These portals will only allow you to use them so that I don't have any uninvited guests."

"Thank you, Doctor." Zarina said. "I'll be sure to put them to good use."

"Think nothing of it, Zarina." Doctor Fate said. "Hellmouths need to be guarded and should any more agents of Chaos try to have their fun, I'm certain you'll show them the error of their ways."

With that, Doctor Fate teleported himself out of the room and Zatanna hugged her daughter tightly.

"I know you don't want to go back there." Zatanna said.

"I know but if I don't, my friends could die." Zarina replied. "I can't let that happen."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

It was a couple of weeks later but she was now back in Sunnydale. She tried to display a bit of normalcy for the first week she was there but she now found herself in a graveyard late at night standing over a grave. Zarina knew that no one would be coming up out of it because it was already empty. She knelt down and placed the roses on the grave.

"Hey Jesse, sorry I haven't been by in a while." Zarina said speaking to the grave. "As you can see, I've been through a few changes since we last spoke. I've been through so much since that Halloween and I don't know if I can even tell the others about it. Will they accept it or will they be scared? According to the obituaries, I'm dead. Not as dead as you but still legally, Alexander Lavelle Harris is dead. He died Halloween night."

She heard someone walk up behind her and she turned to see a vampire wearing his game face behind her. He smiled.

"I didn't know that there was delivery here." He said to her.

"Funny, I'm gone for a few months and the vampires got dumber." She replied. "!eriF"

The conjured flame consumed the vampire and Zarina took a few steps before she heard something else move towards her. She turned to see someone she hadn't been expecting to run into yet. Willow seemed a little awed at what she'd seen. Zarina smiled because it was nice seeing a familiar face.

"How did you do that?" Willow asked. "I thought it took a lot of work to conjure fire."

"What can I say?" Zarina asked. "I'm good."

"I'm Willow." Willow said introducing herself.

"Zarina Zatara, Mini-Mistress of Magic." Zarina said introducing herself to her friend.

Author's End Notes: So what does everyone think? Before anyone asks about it, I will explain what Zarina did during those missing months as well as how the Scooby Gang survived without Xander there for certain times.


	2. Mistakes

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANYTHING INVOLVING DC COMICS. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY AND DC COMICS I THINK OWNS ITSELF************************

Author's Notes: Spoilers for "Dead Man's Party"

Chapter 2

Mistakes

Zarina sat down on the couch in her living room going over what had happened after she met Willow in the graveyard last night. Oz, Cordelia, Amy, and Andrew had been hunting vampires that night with her. For a while, Zarina had been worried about whether or not Oz would have been able to tell but fortunately he wasn't or at least he didn't say anything to her. It wasn't like she wouldn't have freaked out. Zarina knew that she'd done it before.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

November 1, 1997

Groggily, he opened his eyes expecting to see a normal ceiling but not a bright light. He started to sit up but he felt someone grab his shoulder. Xander looked over to see a blonde nurse who looked like she was in her early forties trying to hold him down.

"Mam, I'm fine." Xander said to her. "Besides, I've got to get to school or my best friend is going to kill me."

"I think you have bigger problems." The nurse said gesturing for him to take a closer look at himself.

It was then he noticed his chest and promptly fainted.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

She shook her head clearing away the mental cobwebs as a knocking began to be heard on her front door. Walking over to the front door, she opened it to see Willow holding her school bag. Zarina remembered it was the same one she had last year. The redhead seemed rather eager about today.

"So first day at Sunnydale High?" Willow asked as if it was a rhetorical question. "I thought I might show you around if you don't mind."

_Kinda weird for Willow to be this assertive._ Zarina thought. _Then again, it might have something to do with the small fact about those two vampires I toasted last night._

"Okay, I just need to grab a couple of things." Zarina said. "Come on in."

Willow took a step into the doorway when a field repelled her and hurled her into the yard. Shocked, Zarina ran out into the yard to help her.

"I'm so, so, so sorry!" Zarina exclaimed. "Doctor Fate warned me that he warded my house but I didn't think it would stop people from coming in." She reached into her pocket pulling out her cell phone. Zarina hit her speed dial and it picked up. "Doctor Fate, Zarina here. I just tried to let someone in my house and they got bounced into the yard."

Willow watched as Zarina listened to the voice on the other end. She didn't even know who this _Doctor Fate_ was but evidently Zarina respected him. Zarina turned the phone off and put it back in her pocket.

"What did he say?" Willow asked as Zarina helped pick her up.

"You haven't done black magic, have you?" Zarina asked.

"Well, my first spell was to put a soul back into..." Willow began to say before she noticed the look on Zarina's face. "What? Did I do something wrong? The spell didn't even work."

"First Willow, that spell was a curse. Any magic that involves drawing a soul from the here-after is serious black magic. It isn't something to play around with." Zarina stated to her before Willow interrupted her.

"But I'm not playing–!" Willow exclaimed before she was interrupted.

"I'm not done." Zarina said. "Second, for the ward to have repelled you like it did means that the curse did work."

A look of shock washed over Willow's face as the information sunk in. "Oh my god, that mean's that Buffy was forced to kill Angel despite the fact that he got his soul back." She said to her.

"Buffy?" Zarina asked with obvious confusion in her voice. She had to put the hint of confusion there because while Xander knew who Buffy was, Zarina hadn't met her yet. "Kind of an odd name."

"Like Zarina?" Willow asked with a giggle.

"Point but there is reasoning behind the reason for the alliteration. My mother's name is Zatanna Zatara. Her egotistical cousin is Zachary Zatara. So, I'm Zarina Zatara." Zarina explained. "But who's Buffy?"

"Well...it's not my place to tell you but Angel was her boyfriend and he was also a vampire and he lost his soul because the curse lifted because Buffy allowed him to experience a moment of pure happiness." Willow began to explain with a nervous tone in her voice.

"Okay, Wills." Zarina said before she realized she'd slipped into a name Xander would have used. "I know you don't want to betray Buffy's trust and I respect that."

"Oh, speaking about Buffy." Willow said switching tracks. "We're having a welcome home party at her house if you want to come."

"This isn't a cheap way of wanting me to provide entertainment, is it?" Zarina asked with a smile.

Willow began to shake her head so hard that Zarina thought her head was going to fall off her shoulders. "NonononononononononononoIjustthoughtthatBuffymightliketomeetyouandIthoughtthatyoumightliketomeether." She babbled.

"Okay, I'll come." Zarina replied with a smile. It was good to hear Willow-babble again. The closest she'd came to it was when Impulse drank one too many Jolt colas. "Sounds like it'd be fun."

By now, Zarina realized that they had somehow walked all the way to school without knowing it. Everything seemed the same. She saw Cordelia and the Cordettes chatting to themselves but she also noticed Harmony's face light up with recognition as the cheerleader started to point over towards Willow and Zarina. The Cordettes seemed mesmerized as Willow led Zarina into the school.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Cordelia could only stare with bewilderment wondering what her flock of Cordettes were staring at. The girls seemed almost star struck but that was impossible. No one famous went to Sunnydale High.

"Excuse me, someone want to clue me in?" Cordelia asked.

"I can't believe it." Aura said.

"She's prettier in daylight than on stage." Janet stated.

"I can't believe she's here." Aphrodesia said with awe in her voice.

"I hope I'm in a class with her." Gwen said.

"How does Rosenberg know her?" Harmony asked.

Cordelia spun around to see Willow lead Zarina into the school. She'd met the black haired girl last night when they were on patrol. No one had really thought much about it except for Willow who seemed gaga over some magic she'd seen the girl do.

"We should so start a chapter of her fan club here in Sunnydale." Harmony said to the other Cordettes.

"Why are you guys so hung up on her anyway?" Cordelia asked.

"Duh, Cordelia." Aura replied. "Zarina Zatara, the Mini-Mistress Of Magic, Daughter of the Princess Of Prestidigitation. Her mother is Zatanna Zatara. When the Justice League need magical assistance, they call Zatanna."

"We went to the show she did in LA last month and I was blown away." Janet informed Cordelia.

"Yah, when she shot those cards into the air and they became doves and then she got the doves to land in front of her where they turned back into cards." Harmony elaborated. "I couldn't believe my eyes."

"We've so got to find out how Willow became her friend." Aphrodesia said to the Cordettes. "Even if we have to become Willow's friends also."

The Cordettes walked away from their leader who was now confused. Her friends had just ditched her to go hang out with Willow Rosenberg. Welcome to the Twilight Zone, Cordelia thought as she headed for the library.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Zarina saw Willow shudder a bit. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I just felt a disturbance in the Force." Willow informed her. "It's nothing."

Noticing Snyder, Zarina turned to Willow. "I have to talk to my new principal." She said to Willow.

"Good luck." Willow informed her. "I usually can be found in the library if you know want to talk."

"Thanks." Zarina replied before focusing her attention to other matters.

Zarina walked over to Snyder with a smile on her face. He motioned for her to enter his office which she did and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. Snyder sat down at his desk and opened up a folder.

"So, Miss Zatara, I see your prior education has been rather unstructured." Snyder said. "Private schooling from your mother and a Doctor Kent Nelson. Four months of physical education conducted by a woman named Artemis, no last name given. Then, you were on tour with your mother's 'magic' act. I also see you have a letter in her from the Department of Metahuman Affairs which allows for you to leave school when necessary and be excused for any absences that you might incur. I want to know Miss Zatara why should I even bother having you in my school."

"Whatever do you mean, sir?" Zarina asked. She had an idea that this was going to be difficult.

"Your kind are reckless and disorderly." Snyder informed her.

Zarina shot up and slammed her fists onto the desk. She glared at the troll-like man and was tempted to use magic to make him regret what he said.

"Was that a racial slur, Principal Snyder?" She asked with rage almost dripping in her voice.

"Of course not, Miss Zatara." Snyder snapped back. "I'm talking about you so-called super heroes. Your kind lords over our world using your special powers to 'protect us' as you so call it. How many people have died because of your acts of 'protection'?"

"So, you would have rather lived under the oppressive rule of one of many super villains who are out there or you'd rather have the human race annihilated by countless others." Zarina informed him. "Like it or not, Earth needs those same super-heroes whom you disapprove of and whether I like it or not, I have to save everyone I can even if that includes you. Are we done here?"

"Yes, we are." He informed her. "Go to the library where I'm sure Mr. Giles will get you your text books."

"Thank you, sir." Zarina said getting up and walking out the office door.

Zarina walked down the hallway going towards the library. She felt like she'd done this thousands of times but she squashed that feeling. Xander had walked these halls thousands of times, Zarina hadn't. Realizing it was a moot point as she had already reached the library doors, Zarina pushed them open to see Willow and Cordelia arguing over something and Oz contemplating a smelly caged cat on the table in the center of the library.

"What's with the cat?" Zarina asked.

Giles walked into view seeing a girl dressed in a grey blouse, blue jeans, and white sneakers. He was leery about revealing any information to the girl and decided discretion was the better fault of valor.

"I, uh, found it this morning when I was entering the library this morning." He said to her hoping that the effect that his students that were in the know, as it were, called 'Sunnydale Syndrome' to set in. "I must have left a window open."

Zarina gave him one of her thousand watt smiles. "Try again and make sure you aren't trying to lie to someone who made the Martian Manhunter fess up to eating the last of her Oreos." She informed him.

Cordelia glared at Zarina. "Who in the hell do you think you are for thinking you deserve a fan club?" Cordelia asked.

Oz cocked an eyebrow but he didn't really take his attention away from the cat. "Fan club?" He asked. "I didn't think anyone was more egoistical than you."

"First, I don't know any of you except for Willow." Zarina said. It was actually more of a lie because Xander did indeed know them but Zarina hadn't met them yet. "Second, am I wearing a tacky gold jumpsuit? I'm Zarina Zatara, not Booster Freaking Gold. I don't start my own fan club. I don't even know who started mine."

The last name seemed to catch Giles' attention. "Zarina Zatara?" He asked watching Zarina nod. "Are you by chance related to Giovanni Zatara?"

"He's my grandpa." Zarina said before a frown formed on her face. "I never got the chance to meet him."

"So, your family is like really magical?" Willow asked a little hesitantly.

"Comes with the territory." Zarina said. "So freshly zombified cat, huh?"

"Yah, Buffy and her mom hit it last night and buried it but apparently it didn't like that idea." Willow informed her.

"So, I guess we're looking at a cursed artifact or an inexperienced necromancer." Zarina said looking over to Giles.

Giles seemed a little bewildered. "What makes you think either of those?" He asked.

"Well, an inexperienced necromancer might have experimented on an animal. It's simple and a stray animal is something hardly anyone would notice if it went missing." Zarina explained. "A cursed object however would radiate its magic over a given area causing whatever dead things that the magic encountered to reanimate."

Giles smiled. "I'll have to keep that in mind while I do research tonight to uncover this mystery." He said to her. "So, I'm guessing you're a new student."

"Yep, Principal Luthor said that I had to come here to pick up my books." Zarina said. "I swear that if the Justice League had to come here that man would have a conniption fit."

Giles found the text books that Zarina needed for her classes. She thanked them and said her goodbyes before leaving the library. Willow walked over to Giles a little hesitantly.

"Giles, I kinda went over to Zarina's house. It's that white Victorian on Maple Street but anyway, the wards that this Doctor Fate guy put on her house kicked me into the yard." Willow told him.

"Good Lord." Giles exclaimed. "Doctor Fate warded her home."

"What's the big deal?" Cordelia asked. "So some hippie mage cast a few spells on her place; it's not like we haven't had weird experiences with magic before."

"Ms. Chase, Doctor Fate isn't some hippie mage but an agent of the Balance who is advised by the Babylonian God, Nabu. Fate is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world and for him to do something as mundane as ward a home means a great deal about Zarina." Giles informed her.

"Just how magical is Zarina's family anyway?" Willow asked.

"The Watcher's Council tends to shy away from the Zataras after an incident in the 1890s where a Zatara prevented the removal of a Potential Slayer from the family by transforming the Watchers that were sent into rabbits." Giles informed her. "Not only is the Zatara name associated with stage magic, but they are descendants of Leonardo da Vinci himself. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have been _homo magi_, an evolution of humans who naturally are capable of magic without having to invoke other forces."

"Cool." Oz replied.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

This had to have been one of the more interesting days of school that Zarina could remember. She had spent some time locating through a few of the old school papers to try to ascertain a casualty count and while some of the people she wouldn't have missed; there was one that she would have loved to see again. Miss Calender, according to the official school obituary, had been murdered in the school library and the only suspect at the time was Buffy Anne Summers. Zarina had remembered Batman saying that during one of the times he'd passed through Sunnydale, he'd saved the teacher from Angelus. She thought that Miss Calender must have been shocked by that but another thought crossed her mind. What was the look on Deadboy's face when the Dark Knight saved her from him?

Classes were rather routine and she now knew what it was like to be the new student. Though, most knew students weren't seen fighting the forces of evil on live television. Most students weren't also famous stage magicians that seemed to have a flock of Cordettes as fans. The lunch bell rang and as explained by the Cordettes who tried to invite her to go to lunch with them that as seniors they could leave school for their choice of meal. A thought crossed her mind and she was glad she ran into Willow.

"Hey, Willow." Zarina greeted her. "Listen, I thought about a way we might be able to bypass the wards."

Willow's face lit up. "Really, how?" She asked.

"Hold my hand." She replied. When Willow took hold of her hand, she continued. ".emoh ym ot su ekaT"

They teleported into Zarina's living room to see Doctor Fate standing there. Zarina could tell that the sorcerer was smirking behind the helmet. Willow seemed to be taken back by Doctor Fate's appearance.

"Doctor Fate, what brings you by?" Zarina asked.

"Actually, I came to congratulate you on figuring out how to bypass the wards." Doctor Fate informed her. "The wards won't allow anyone access that you don't bring in the same way that you brought in your friend."

"By the way, Willow, this is Doctor Fate. Doctor Fate, meet Willow." Zarina said introducing the two. "Doctor Fate, will you be staying for lunch?"

"I'm afraid not, duty calls." Doctor Fate said before chanting in an obscure language and teleporting away.

"Wow. He's cool." Willow said with a slight grin.

Zarina motioned for Willow to follow her into the kitchen. The daughter of the Mistress of Magic knew that different members of the League had a hand in the house in one place or another. She knew that the kitchen was suppose to be Batman's addition as it was state of the art and came equipped with just about everything needed to cook whatever someone might desire but she knew that a certain butler had his own hand in the kitchen. Willow saw a pot with steam coming out of it. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have phased her but the steam was frozen in place as if it was under a spell.

".ezeerfnU" Zarina said. The steam resumed movement and Zarina smiled. "So mostaccioli with Italian herb & cheese sauce sound okay?"

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

School ended and Willow walked back into the library intent on telling Giles what she saw. He was going through another book when she walked in.

"Giles, you won't believe who I met today." She said to him.

"Who did you meet, Willow?" Giles asked not taking his eyes away from the book.

"Doctor Fate." Willow said smiling.

Giles dropped the book right where he was standing and grabbed his glasses to clean them. "Good Lord." He said. "What the devil is he doing in Sunnydale?"

"He was congratulating Zarina on bypassing the wards that kept me out." Willow informed him. "He then teleported away and Zarina and I ate mostaccioli with Italian herb & cheese sauce. She had some spell on it that kept it like frozen in time or in some kind of stasis but it was really good."

"That's fairly advanced magic, Willow." Giles informed her. "I know that _homo magi_ are powerfully magical humans but I never would have imagined that they were that powerful."

"So, are you going to be at Buffy's party?" She asked changing the subject.

"I will once I figure out what we are dealing with." Giles said bending down to pick up the book he'd dropped. "Have fun."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The party was rowdy by most people's standards but most people don't have an open invitation to the Event Horizon. Because of a funny feeling she had been having, she had dressed for the party in her costume which was identical to what her mother wore when out on stage or on missions for the JLA. Zarina had a plastic cup full of punch that she was sipping on after having cast a spell to make certain it was punch and not something else entirely. She wasn't going to fall prey to some of the weird shit that happened on the Hellmouth. Willow walked over to her.

"Zarina, I think I saw Buffy go upstairs." Willow said to her. "Would you like to meet her?"

_So, I finally get the chance to re-meet Buffy._ Zarina thought. _Hopefully, it won't be as bad as the first time._

"Sure." Zarina said.

Willow and Zarina went upstairs to Buffy's room to see the blonde Slayer was putting her clothes into a bag. Astonishment shot through Willow's face as it was clear what Buffy was going to do.

"You're not leaving again, are you?" Willow asked her friend.

"Why should I stay?" She asked. "It seems like you all got along fine without me."

"That's not true." Willow pleaded with her friend.

Before Zarina could add anything to the conversation, Joyce saw what her daughter was doing and began to berate her severely. Buffy stormed out of the room and headed downstairs with everyone in hot pursuit. Zarina watched while playing with her top hat.

"You with the dumb top hat, got something to add?" Buffy shouted at Zarina.

Willow's eyes widened as she knew Buffy didn't know Zarina. She stepped between the two. Looking at Buffy, she said while shaking her head empathetically. "Zarina doesn't have anything to add." She continued and turned her gaze towards Zarina. Zarina flinched when she recognized Willow's resolve face. "Zarina doesn't have anything she wants to say to Buffy, right."

"Okay." Zarina said. _Shit, I can stand up to Batman when he has his full intimidation face on but I still can't withstand Willow's resolve face._ She thought.

That was when loud crashes could be heard and zombies stormed into Buffy's home. Everyone got spooked and most ran while Zarina handed her top hat to Cordelia.

"What am I suppose to do with this?" Cordelia asked in disbelief.

"Be my lovely assistant, of course." Zarina said as she reached into the hat. "And now for my first trick..." She pulled out two polished short swords.

"How in the hell did you do that?" Cordelia asked once again in disbelief.

"Buffy, catch!" Zarina shouted throwing one of swords to the Slayer who deftly caught it and chopped off one of the zombie's heads in one fluid motion.

Zarina put her top hat back on her head and decapitated a zombie who had gotten to close to Cordelia. She let out an ice spell which froze a pair of zombies before they got too close again.

"Where is the butt ugly primitive artifact that spawned these things?" Zarina asked with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

Buffy's eyes widened and she turned towards the stairs. "Everyone! Upstairs!" She shouted.

Buffy ran up the stairs with the Scoobies, her mother, and Zarina behind her and opened the door to her mother's room to see the Nigerian mask on the wall. She hurled the short sword at it, destroying the mask when it struck. Joyce looked like she was about to scold her daughter when the zombies vanished in a flash of light. Buffy walked over to the wall and retrieved the short sword.

"So, who are you?" Buffy asked Zarina. "Mini-Watcher lady?"

"Hardly." Zarina replied. "Zarina Zatara, Mini-Mistress of Magic."

Joyce's face showed that the mother recognized at least the last name. "Zatara, as in Zatanna Zatara?" She asked.

"That's my mother." Zarina said with a smile.

"What are you doing here in Sunnydale?" Joyce asked.

"Well, Doctor Fate asked the League if there was a mystic who might be able to be placed here to help safeguard the area. Raven couldn't do it because of personal reasons. My mom's cousin, Zachary, couldn't do it because he needed to get his head out of his butt." Zarina explained to Joyce. "I volunteered. So, Buffy, is it like this every night?"

"No, this was just a Tuesday." Buffy joked.

"Just as long as none of those zombies were saying anything about being born on a Monday." Zarina said with a smile.

Giles came running up the stairs and from the way he was breathing, he seemed to have been running quite the distance. He turned to look around the room and noticed there weren't any zombies.

"Where did the zombies go?" Giles asked.

"I broke the mask that was spawning them, Giles." Buffy said. "I think that we don't have to worry anymore."

"How in the world did you know destroying the mask would get rid of the zombies?" Giles asked wondering at the ingenuity his Slayer used in solving the problem.

"Classic cliche, Mr. Giles." Zarina said answering the question for Buffy. "It's how you stop anything in a horror movie."

"Good Lord, it figures that she'd act like a typical teenager." Giles said prompting everyone to laugh.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Faith was almost out of breath but she pushed herself even harder knowing she had to try to put enough distance between those that had murdered her Watcher and her. That British ghost wasn't what was concerning her but it was the freak with his head in a jar that had her scared. That guy had hit Diana with some kind of freeze gun and that British ghost had berated the metal suit guy that he had to watch his aim. The Slayer hopped a fence and found herself on an airport runway. She grabbed one of the baggage handlers and held him up by an ankle.

"Are any of these planes headed for Los Angeles?" She asked him.

He nodded and pointed to a 747 that was being loaded by handlers. Faith knocked the man out and headed for the plane. Waiting till she had an opening, she got into the baggage compartment undetected. She had read on a fan site that Zarina was in Sunnydale. Faith looked up at the ceiling as if she was praying.

"Please, help me." She said softly with tears running from her eyes.

Author's End Notes: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.


	3. Frozen Hell

*****I DON'T OWN ANYTHING SEEN IN THIS WORK OF FAN FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY AND DC COMICS OWNS ITSELF*****

Chapter 3

Frozen Hell

Zarina walked into the Bronze with a smile on her face. She ignored the looks from some of the people in the club but the looks were understandable even if some of them didn't recognize who she was. Dressed in a black leather jacket, green blouse, blue denim jeans, and stylish black leather boots, the looks she was receiving from the people were understandable. It felt both strange and good to be back in Sunnydale. Some might have thought that she was living a lie but it really wasn't true. It didn't even feel like a lie when she had read that Xander's parents weren't the ones to file a missing person's report on their own son but Giles. A month later, Xander had been declared dead and were it not for Giles, Xander wouldn't even have had a tombstone for anyone to mourn him.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

November 1st, 1997

JLA Watchtower

Briefing Room

Batman gazed over at Zatanna to see his childhood friend awash with different emotions. He had seen fear, remorse, anxiety, and sadness. It wasn't comfortable seeing her like this. He turned his head as Doctor Fate began to explain the situation.

"Unlike the youth named Jonathon who dressed in a damaged Green Arrow costume as well as wearing a golden crucifix that had been stolen from Dinah when she was in college, Alexander's case is quite a bit stranger." Doctor Fate explained.

Jonathon had explained to them prior to this meeting that he had bought the crucifix from an antique shop in his hometown. It had been severely tarnished which was why the shopkeeper had sold it for such a low price. He had restored it to find the initials "D.L.L" inscribed on the back. Jonathon's DNA had been rewritten by the spell that Ethan Rayne had cast causing the teenager's DNA to appear as though he'd been born the son of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance-Queen, otherwise known as Green Arrow and Black Canary. Even his mitochondrial DNA stated that he was the son of the Black Canary.

"As most of you know, Zatanna is _homo magi_ and due to the chaos magic, so is Xander now." Doctor Fate continued explaining the situation. "Magic is not only within her DNA but also her soul which has been copied by the spell."

"How could that be possible?" Diana asked. "Copying a soul shouldn't even be possible no matter what the means."

"Princess, Rayne's spell accidentally invoked True Chaos instead of Janus." Doctor Fate explained. "When True Chaos is invoked, all laws that we know of no longer exist and within that state anything that can happen will."

"If what you say is true, what will happen to..." Zatanna said before trailing off with a hint of trepidation.

"The soul of Alexander Lavelle Harris and the cloned soul of Zatanna Zatara have already begun to fuse together." Doctor Fate answered her question. "Fuse into what, I'm not sure."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Hey Zarina, I'm glad you could make it." Willow said before leading the Mini-Mistress of Magic over to where Buffy, Oz, and Cordelia were. "So, how do you like the Bronze? Isn't it a fun place to hang out?"

Zarina let her eyes gaze over the club. She didn't really think it would have changed much and wasn't surprised that it didn't.

"It's alright, I guess, but if you want to see a great club, I'll have to see if I could get you and Buffy passes into Event Horizon." Zarina said. "That place makes the Bronze look like the library at school."

Cordelia let out a laugh. "Com'n, how come you think any club that requires invites to get into the place would want to give an invite to either one of these two." Cordelia said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"The only way to get a pass into the Event Horizon is to be a metahuman." Zarina informed Cordelia. She held her right hand over towards them where they saw a glowing symbol appear on her hand before it vanished. "Since Buffy is a Slayer and Willow is learning magic, they could get passes but I doubt you and Oz could."

"What's their policy on werewolves?" Oz asked raising a hand as if he was in class.

"I don't know." Zarina asked. "Why do you ask?"

"It's a long story." Buffy added.

"I got bit." Oz explained.

"Apparently not that long." Buffy said taken a bit back by Oz's honesty.

_Okay, Willow is dating a werewolf._ Zarina said. _That's new._

"I guess you would count as a metahuman now." Zarina said.

Cordelia decided to turn her attention towards the dancers. One in particular caught her eye.

"Check out Slut-O-Rama dancing with some guy who's outfit looks like it belonged to Casey and the Sunshine Band." Cordelia remarked.

Zarina looked at the girl in question and thought she looked familiar but she couldn't place from where. It was an odd feeling but she shook it off. A lot of people in Sunnydale seemed familiar but a lot she passed off as some of Xander's memories. Buffy looked over to see the girl begin to walk out with the guy.

"I don't think that guy thrives in sunshine." She said. "Come on."

They ran out of the club and Zarina manifested her top hat, pulling a stake out of it when it appeared. Hearing the sounds of a fight, they ran over to see the girl battling the vampire and that is when Zarina recognized the girl.

"Faith!" She exclaimed tossing the stake to the other Slayer. "Catch!"

Faith reacted instantly and stakes the vampire with the tossed stake. She smiled as she turned towards them.

"Hey, thanks for the help but who the hell knew my..." She said before her gaze fell on Zarina. "...name?"

The confident facade fell away and a scared and crying girl took her place as Faith ran into Zarina's arms. Buffy, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz were a bit baffled at the situation. Oz raised an eyebrow.

"Do this often?" He asked.

Zarina ignored him and held onto Faith. "Faith, it's okay." She said. "What happened?"

"She's dead." Faith said with her voice trembling. "Some psycho with his head in a jar froze her."

"What the hell would Mister Freeze want that he'd kill your Watcher?" Zarina asked recognizing the villain from her description.

"I don't know but some British ghost was with him and—." Faith said before she was interrupted by the magician.

"Fuck, Gentleman Ghost!" Zarina exclaimed. "If Gentleman Ghost is involved, they're going to come here. Faith, forget where you're staying at in town. You're staying with me."

"Hey, there's no way this Freeze guy and British Ghost guy could've follow her here." Buffy said.

"Buffy, I've tangled with Gentleman Ghost in the past alongside Blue Bowman. He's extremely tenacious at what he does and I doubt that Faith coming to the Hellmouth will deter him from his goals." Zarina explained. "If he somehow has pulled Mister Freeze into this, then this is going to be hard to take down. I'm going to need to call in backup."

"Hey, this is my town and I'm suppose to be able to protect it." Buffy informed Zarina.

Zarina cocked an eyebrow. "Really, then go ask Mr. Giles how to stop Gentleman Ghost and Mister Freeze. Ten bucks says to call Batman or another super hero." She said to Buffy. "I'm taking Faith somewhere I know she'll be safe."

"You don't have to take me to your place." Faith said weakly.

"Forget it, Faith." Zarina replied. "Gentleman Ghost and Mister Freeze are dangerous adversaries and I want you safe. My house is warded that the only way it will allow you in is if the spell knows you. The only person from Sunnydale who can enter is Willow because I teleported her in. The only uninvited guests that can come in would have to belong to either the Justice League Of America, the Teen Titans, or the Outsiders. Trust me, good people. Most of them anyway. It's the safest place in town. So, stay with me, okay."

Faith nodded her head. "Okay." She answered. "I'll crash at your place."

Zarina looked over at the others. "I'm taking her back to my place." She told them. ".emoh ym ot kcab I dna htiaF ekaT"

Zarina and Faith teleported into the living room of her home in Sunnydale to find someone else in the house with them. A giggle was what confirmed the presence. Zarina and Faith turned and the young magician's face had a smile.

"Mom!" She exclaimed. "I didn't think you were going to come here after the tour."

Zarina hugged her mother who returned the embrace and Faith seemed to become uncomfortable. The younger magician noticed this.

"Mom, this is Faith." Zarina said performing the introductions. "Faith, meet my mother, Zatanna Zatara."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Faith." Zatanna said offering the girl a hand to shake which the Slayer accepted.

"Mom, Faith's in serious trouble." Zarina informed her mother. "Gentleman Ghost and Mister Freeze killed her Watcher and they might be coming after her."

Zatanna's face lit up with alarm and sympathy for the Slayer. "What happened?" She asked. "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid of telling you." Faith replied. "Diana and I were out on patrol back in Boston and we were jumped by this army of vamps. The last time I had seen a group of vampires this size was when Zarina and that blue guy saved my..._life_ from this ugly master vamp called Kakistos. Then, this ice beam hit all the vamps which also dusted them and Mister Freeze and Gentleman Ghost showed themselves."

That was when Faith fell to her knees crying again. Zarina bent down to hold her but Zatanna was quicker. She held the girl in her arms as the Slayer cried. Soon, the sobbing ceased and Faith quieted down.

"Faith, Zarina will show you to a guest room where you'll be staying." Zatanna informed Faith. "We'll get on the horn and see if we can get a couple of people to help."

Faith nodded. "Okay." She replied getting back to her feet.

Zarina led Faith to a guest room where the Slayer quickly went to sleep. The young magician left the Slayer to sleep and returned downstairs to see her mother with a smirk on her face.

"What?" Zarina asked wondering why her mother was smirking.

"Girlfriend?" Zatanna asked seeing her daughter blush a dark shade of red.

"Mom!" Zarina exclaimed embarrassed. "No, I met Faith in Boston when Jonathon called me for backup after the show in New York."

"Honey, there's no need to be embarrassed." Zatanna told her daughter. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thanks, Mom." Zarina said smiling. "You want to call Mr. Wayne and I'll call Jonathon."

"What about Rose?" Zatanna asked. "She might be able to help especially if Gentleman Ghost recruits vampires to help him."

"Yah and I could just see what would happen then." Zarina replied. "Robin would wonder why in the hell I'd call her and pretty much every one of the Titans would show up except for Raven. Even with all the business with Trigon and the Church Of Blood, they wouldn't believe me about vampires and they'd get jumped by them and I would just _love_ to try to slay a vampire version of Garfield."

"You do know that Bruce will call Tim in to help him, don't you?" Zatanna pointed out.

"Yah, we better get on the horn." Zarina replied. "No telling when Mister Freeze and Gentleman Ghost will show up after Faith.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The door to the abandoned ice cream factory was pulled open and the vampires inside turned to see a man in a metal suit and a ghost walked into the building. They were about to attack when the man in the metal suit attacked first, freezing the vampires where they stood where the ghost then dispatched them. Despite the normal California weather, men in cold weather gear poured into the factory as the power was restored.

"We are here, Ghost." Mister Freeze informed his partner.

"Yes, I don't go to a Hellmouth often." Gentleman Ghost answered. "Tends to give me a headache."

"You don't have a head." Mister Freeze reminded him.

"Nevertheless, it will interfere with my ability to detect the Slayer." Gentleman Ghost continued. "I think the Hellmouth might be giving me an echo."

"What do you mean?" Mister Freeze asked.

"I'm detecting two Slayers when there should only be one." Gentleman Ghost said.

"Go and check on things." Mister Freeze suggested. "I need quality time."

Gentleman Ghost left as a semi backed up and the henchmen opened the back of the trailer. Inside, a woman floated inside a tube.

"Soon, Nora, soon." Mister Freeze said to the woman.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

November 5, 1997

JLA Watchtower

"I can't go back." Xander said lifting his/her hands. "Not like this, J'onn." Xander's head turned to look at the Martian. "How in the heck did I know your name? I mean, I should only know you as the Martian Manhunter. We haven't even been introduced yet and..."

J'onn raised a hand in an effort to quiet the youth. "We believe that it's an effect of the spell that had been cast." J'onn explained. "You still possess several if not all of Zatanna's memories."

"Oh," Xander replied. "So, did Doctor Fate find a spell that might be able to reverse my predicament?"

"No, he didn't." Zatanna said stepping into the room.

Xander looked up to see Zatanna. Her eyes seemed puffy as though she'd been crying heavily. Xander understood why she was crying. He...She knew that Zatanna felt responsible for letting her top hat get stolen.

"Hey, don't be like that." Xander pleaded with her. "I know how you feel and I know that is creeping me out but don't cry because otherwise I'll cry and then Marvin here is going to try to figure out what to do next."

This caused Zatanna and Xander to start laughing while a perplexed look formed on the face of the Martian Manhunter.

"Marvin?" He asked himself causing the two humans in the room with him to laugh harder.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Faith woke up to the smell of bacon sizzling and let her nose guide her to the kitchen. She saw Zatanna sitting down at the counter while her daughter, dressed in a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans, cooking at the stove.

"Wow, you can pull a rabbit out of your hat and cook." Faith said. "I'm impressed."

"Well, I do try." Zarina said with a smile. "I took a guess at your size and got you some clothes if you want to take a shower before breakfast. Bacon and eggs sound okay?"

"Yah, sure." Faith replied heading in the direction of the bathroom.

Zatanna noticed her daughter was a little anxious about something. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"You know how J'onn explained that my personality is like an amalgamation of your personality and Xander's personality." Zarina explained. "Lately, being back in Sunnydale is causing Xander to kind of come to the surface. The day when the wards on the house bounced Willow out, I kind of slipped and called her Wills. Xander use to call her that."

"And you're afraid of what might happen if Xander's old friends learn the truth?" Zatanna asked rhetorically. "It's understandable but it might be better if you tell them yourself than if they find out on their own."

"I know, Mom, but I can't do that to them." Zarina explained. "In a way, I killed their best friend when I was born."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Willow gave Zarina and Faith a brief tour of the school highlighting on areas where the nighttime denizens of Sunnydale had been and what they had done. Zarina wasn't paying that much attention to it as a more familiar face began to walk towards them. Her face lit up with a smile.

"Jonathon Lawrence Queen, what the hell are you doing in Sunnydale?" She asked walking over to him.

"Thought I might pay a visit to my favorite magician." He replied. "Anything interesting?"

"Zombies showed up at this party I went to the other night." Zarina answered. "So, any bad after effects from the Lazarus Pit?"

Jonathon's eyes lit up with surprise. "How in the hell did you find that out?" He asked.

"I have my sources." Zarina replied.

"Mia!" Jonathon muttered. "Well, at least the Pit made certain I wouldn't be recognizable."

That was the last thing either of them said about their own secrets before Willow and Faith walked over to them. Willow seemed a bit nervous but Faith had her confident facade up again.

"So Zarina, who's your friend?" Willow asked.

"Jonathon Queen, meet Willow Rosenberg and Faith." Zarina said introducing Jonathon to them.

"Zarina and I are old friends." Jonathon explained. "I heard she was living here so I decided to visit."

"So, old boyfriend?" Faith asked.

Zarina blushed. "Faith, Jonathon's like an idiot brother to me." She answered Faith. "No, he's just a friend."

"Chiseled physique, blonde hair, blue eyes, and gorgeous." A voice said from the distance. The quartet turned to see Cordelia walking over to them. "I'm Cordelia Chase."

"Jonathon Queen." He replied introducing himself.

"As in the Star City Queens?" Cordelia asked.

"Precisely." He answered.

Before Cordelia could respond, screams rang out in the hallway as men in cold-weather gear ran into the school armed with some kind of high-tech weaponry. A quick spell switched her more civilian clothes with her magician's attire and Zarina kicked the nearest goon in the head sending him unconscious to the floor. Faith picked up the henchman's fallen weapon and fired it at another goon for the unfortunate criminal to be frozen in a block of ice.

"Holy shit!" The Slayer exclaimed. "It's some kind of freeze gun."

"Jon, get Cordy out of here!" Zarina shouted an order to her friend. She knew she had just used Xander's nickname for the self-proclaimed Queen of Sunnydale High School but right now she couldn't focus on that right now.

Jonathon led Cordelia away as Zarina and Faith fought the henchmen. Faith used the freeze gun more like a club when the henchmen grew too close, aiming for their heads when she did swing it. Zarina blasted henchmen with stun spells and slammed some of the henchmen into lockers with telekinesis. When all of the henchmen that had entered the hall were knocked out, Faith looked over at the magician.

"Where the hell is Freeze?" She asked afraid.

".nem eseht dniB" Zarina said as magical ropes formed and tied the henchmen up. "I intend to find out."

They ran down the hall to see the library doors covered in a thick sheet of ice. Faith ran into it futilely trying to break through. She massaged her sore shoulder.

"Damn, that's some thick ice." Faith remarked.

"Stand back." Zarina said with her hands glowing with energy. ".eci eht tleM"

Slowly at first, the ice began to melt away. When the ice cleared, they entered the library to see Oz helping Willow to her feet as Giles held an axe. The trio seemed relieved to see Zarina and Faith. Zarina also noticed who wasn't in the library with them.

"Where's Buffy?" Zarina asked.

"Freeze took her saying something about saving his Nora." Giles explained. "Buffy tried to fight him but he was way too strong for us."

"You're all lucky to be alive." Zarina informed them. "Freeze's strength is said to be on par with Superman himself. He could have killed all of you quite easily."

"But he has Buffy!" Willow exclaimed. "He's going to kill her."

Zarina shook her head. "He won't harm a hair on her if I'm right." She informed Willow.

Faith turned to look at the magician. "What the hell do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Because the pieces finally fit." Zarina answered. "According to what I've read, one of the two things that have always motivated Mister Freeze in his criminal career was his pursuit to save his terminally ill wife, Nora Fries. He's partnered with Gentleman Ghost because his plan is involving the supernatural. Buffy and Faith are mystically-enhanced warriors with the strength level of what I'd say would be a Themysciran infant and my guess is their plan is to transfer Nora's soul into Buffy's body and Buffy's soul into Nora's body."

"If what you think is true, we might be able to try an exorcism to allow Gentleman Ghost to pass on to the next world. After that, we worry about Mister Freeze." Giles replied.

"Craddock's soul was cursed never to pass on until the two who executed him also pass on." A voice said causing the group to turn towards the library's doors.

"Batman, cool." Oz said raising an eyebrow at the Dark Knight.

"Unfortunately for Craddock, the souls of those who executed him are reincarnated each time they die so they never pass on to the hereafter either." Batman explained.

"So, how do we fight him?" Faith asked.

"You don't." Batman informed the Slayer. "The only people in this room that will are myself and Zarina."

"But Buffy's our friend. We have to help her." Willow exclaimed.

Zarina looked over at Batman. "Has Oracle found the probable location of Freeze's hideout in Sunnydale?" She asked.

"Not yet, Sunnydale seems to have more abandoned warehouses than Arkham Asylum has escapes per year." Batman replied.

Oz looked up. "Ice cream." He said.

"Oz!" Willow admonished her boyfriend. "Now isn't the time for ice cream."

"Actually, now is the perfect time for ice cream." Oz explained himself. "Guy that big has to find someplace cold to stretch his legs. He can't always stay in the suit."

"You have a point." Batman said praising him. "Is there an abandoned ice cream factory in town?"

"Only one, it's the old Hun-Dread-Aire plant on Joseph Street." Oz informed Batman.

Zarina lifted up her open communicator. "Bowman, did you hear that?" She asked.

"_Yah, your mom and I will meet you guys there."_ Bowman said over the communicator.

"Take us there, Zarina." Batman ordered.

"Hold on—." Giles said before a glare from Batman silenced the Watcher.

".tnalp eriA-daerD-nuH eht ot su ekaT" Zarina said teleporting Batman and herself away.

Willow sat down in one of the few intact chairs. "So she leaves us here while she and Batman go and rescue Buffy." She said to them.

"My van is in the parking lot." Oz replied.

"Let's go." Giles ordered.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Batman and Zarina teleported outside the factory where Zatanna and Blue Bowman were waiting for them. Zatanna smiled when she saw Batman.

"Bruce, it's nice to see you again but I wish it was under better circumstances." Zatanna said greeting her childhood friend.

"Indeed, I was planning on coming out here anyway." Batman replied. "Some of these smaller art dealers have more unique pieces than those in Gotham."

Ignoring the two, Zarina took off her top hat and walked over Blue Bowman. She pulled out a quiver of arrows and handed them to the sapphire archer. Each arrow seemed to be translucent as if they were made of water. This caught the attention of the World's Greatest Detective.

"What are those?" Batman asked Blue Bowman.

Blue Bowman smirked. "Holy water arrows, Batman." He answered receiving a scowl from the Dark Knight. "I asked Zarina if she could try to create them after the incident in Boston."

An alarm sounded and henchmen ran in their direction. Batman hurled batarangs, knocking their weapons out of their hands, and Blue Bowman fired bola arrows tying them up. The quartet of heroes ran into the now open doors of the abandoned factory to see Buffy chained to a wall and Mister Freeze and Gentleman Ghost glaring at them.

"Batman, you will not interfere with my plan to save Nora." Mister Freeze informed before firing his Freeze gun.

The quartet of heroes dodged the blast and Zarina noticed that Gentleman Ghost was holding an old piece of parchment in one of his hands. She figured it was probably important and what prompted the little alliance between the two villains.

"!eriF" She yelled letting a ball of fire fly out and hit the parchment.

"NO!" Gentleman Ghost yelled enraged. "Now, I'll never find the Gem of Amara and if I don't have the map, I'm leaving the Hellmouth."

"But our agreement..." Mister Freeze said trying to remind the villain of their accord.

"Went up in flames when she set fire to the map, Freeze." Gentleman Ghost said leaving the factory.

"If I can't have my Nora's soul placed in this Slayer's body, then I have no further use for this Slayer." Freeze said pointing his Freeze gun at Buffy.

Suddenly, an ear piercing scream reverberated in the factory as Blue Bowman unleashed a Canary Scream directed at Mister Freeze's helmet. Freeze's face looked horrified as the glass of his helmet cracked and then shattered from the sonic assault. He fell to the ground gasping for air. Blue Bowman stopped the attack as Zarina freed Buffy.

"You okay, Buffy?" Zarina asked.

"Yah, I don't usually play the damsel in distress though." Buffy said smiling. "Thanks for rescuing me."

"Part of the job description." Zatanna replied.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Why did you just leave us here and not let us go to rescue Buffy?" Willow asked.

"There are certain unwritten rules a lot of super heroes follow. One of these rules is that you listen to what Batman tells you. You may not like what he has to say but he knows what he's doing." Zarina explained. "We're only lucky that it ended that quickly otherwise it could have been worse."

"I'm glad you came." Buffy said. "Maybe I might get some more time with my mom with you and Faith in town."

"Maybe," Zarina said noticing Faith walk into the Bronze. "Hold on a second."

Zarina walked over to the other Slayer with a smile on her face. Faith returned the smile albeit timidly.

"Hey, Faith." Zarina greeted the Slayer. "Rough day, huh. Batman had Mister Freeze transported back to Arkham. It's the only place in the country that has the right facilities for him. How are you doing?"

Faith sighed. "Five by five, Zarina. Look, I'm going to get out of you and your mom's hair and find someplace else to stay." Faith informed her.

"Faith, neither my mom or I said you had to go find yourself somewhere else to stay." Zarina said. "Besides, I'd like some company in the house when my mom goes back on tour."

"Thanks, the only place I could think of to crash at night was a motel." Faith replied smiling. "Your house is probably a lot more clean."

"Com'n, let's go back home." Zarina said. "Mom is cooking dinner tonight."

"She can cook?" Faith asked surprised.

"Cook, yes. Depending on her mood, how well she cooks varies." Zarina replied.

The two left the club laughing leaving Buffy and Willow wondering what the joke was.

Author's End Notes: WOW! I wrote this pretty quickly. I impressed myself. Before anyone asks, yes I made a reference to JoeHundredaire for the name of the abandoned ice cream factory.


	4. Secrets

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR DC COMICS. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS OWNS ITSELF, I THINK.********

Chapter 4

Secrets

The last couple of weeks had been entertaining to say the least, Zarina thought to herself. First, another student created a primitive version of what could be called Big Bang juice turning him into a very angry and strong metahuman. According to Buffy, Pete had died in the midst of the fight and the DMA took the body for an autopsy. The Homecoming dance had came on and gone and what Zarina remembered most was the fact that Buffy and Cordelia were almost killed by hunters participating in some event that was called "SlayerFest '98". Fortunately, they weren't hurt.

Faith and Zarina were sitting in the living room of Zarina's home but their attention wasn't focused on the television but on each other. The Slayer seemed a bit bewildered.

"No shit." She said to Zarina.

"Yah, those are the recognized rules of being a super hero." Zarina replied. "Now, repeat them for me."

"Alright, the first law is the lives and safety of innocent bystanders must always be protected." Faith said repeated the first law almost verbatim.

"Translate it into something more your style." Zarina stated.

"If anyone is dumb enough to still be in the area when the shit hits the fan, then they need to be kept safe and gotten out of the area as quickly as possible." Faith translated the first law into her own words.

"Second law?" Zarina asked.

"The lives and safety of myself and members of my team will be protected to the extent that it doesn't violate the first law." Faith continued.

"Translate." Zarina said to her friend.

"As long as there is nobody who shouldn't be there, then make sure I keep my friends and I safe." Faith replied.

"Good." Zarina said smiling. "Finally, what's the third law?"

"The lives and safety of all opponents will be protected to the extent that it doesn't violate the first two laws." Faith said. "Translating that, if it's a choice between a bystander and/or a team member and the life of the villain, kill the bastard."

"Very true but we try to not kill them if it can be helped." Zarina said. "On a different note, my boxing instructor is visiting Sunnydale. I thought if you wanted to burn some energy during the day today then you and he could spar."

Faith smiled. "Thanks for the thought but I think I'd break him." Faith replied.

"Trust me, if you manage to break this guy; it'll be an accomplishment." She informed Faith. "He spars regularly with Power Girl and she doesn't break him. I don't think you'll hurt him too much."

"Cool." Faith replied. "So, you headed to school?"

"Yah, funny how school can literally feel like hell when it is located on the Mouth of Hell." Zarina answered smiling.

Faith's attention was drawn to the televison as the morning news went to the business report. The slayer's eyes widened and she grabbed the remote turning the volume up.

"The business community was surprised today as a relatively new but well known superhero became the majority shareholder in K.O.R.D Industries. Zarina Zatara, the daughter of Zatanna Zatara, has stunned the business world with this move." The reporter said.

"Damn, Zarina." Faith exclaimed. "When did you do that?

Zarina fainted from the shock and fell onto the couch. Faith reacted immediately.

"Damn it." She exclaimed. "Zatanna, Zarina can't seem to handle a purchase or two!"

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"You didn't cast a spell to help you decide what stocks to buy, did you?" Giles asked her.

"No, Mr. Giles." Zarina said a bit shocked. "I did a little math and thought that K.O.R.D Industries would be a good investment so I looked for a good broker. I did do a spell to make certain that my broker wasn't demonic or affiliated with the forces of darkness but that was the _only_ spell I did."

They were in the library and fortunately, Zarina fainting in her living room had allowed her to be the only student in the library to not have a box of band candy forced upon her to be sold. It wasn't like anyone hadn't already tried to sell her a bar which she refused each time. Willow seemed a bit more interested in the math she did.

"Where could you have learned how to do math that complicated to make you think K.O.R.D Industries would be a good investment?" Willow asked.

"Tip to remember: if you walk into a room where the Martian Manhunter is working on what looks like a very complicated formula, don't ask any questions whatsoever. He'll give you the most boring math class you'll ever experience and you'll have to listen to him because he's got one of those voices that just keeps your attention." Zarina explained. "Trust me Willow, he may be a bit boring but you'll learn."

"So, guess you're like the richest girl in school now?" Cordelia asked.

_Gee, Cordy, way to show your materialistic side._ Zarina thought.

"I guess, unless you or the other Cordettes own a majority share of a Fortune 500 company." Zarina replied with a bit of sarcasm before noticing Buffy open her box of band candy. "And for the last time, Buffy, I'm not buying any of that candy. My favorite chocolate is a bit out of this world."

"Why do I think you meant that a bit literally?" Giles asked.

"I met a guy back at the Event Horizon who I trade things with." Zarina explained. "I think it was a guy anyway or maybe it was a girl, species wasn't really familiar but the person loves books especially those cheap romance novels so I trade them for a pound of Thanagarian chocolate. Trust me, it's out of this world."

Buffy's shoulders sagged with resignation. "Oh well, I bet I can get my mom to buy some of this junk." She said with a sigh.

The bell rang for the next class and they began to walk out but Willow got in front of Zarina before the magician could leave. The redhead seemed a bit nervous about something and it showed.

"Something bothering you, Wills?" Zarina asked.

"It's nothing but I was wondering if you might want to get together later and do some magic?" Willow asked her. "I'm kinda curious what your spells are like."

"First, you have to understand that there is a difference between our magics." Zarina explained. "You're a practitioner, right?" Willow nodded her head. "Well, as I recall, practitioners have to call on a deity to empower a spell. Which one do you invoke?"

"Whichever one needs to be invoked for the spell to work." Willow answered and she noticed that Zarina seemed to wince. "What's wrong with that?"

_How do I explain this to her?_ Zarina thought when an idea popped in her head. She grabbed a bowl she knew Giles had in the library and filled it with water.

"Picture this clear water was how your own soul looked." She said before saying a quick summoning spell to summon a box of different food coloring. "Now, your first spell is what generates your initial pool of magic." She lets a drop of green food coloring fall into the water. "This pool will grow slowly but safely if you specialize. If you 'experiment' like you've been doing, then this happens." Zarina then let drops of yellow, blue, red, and green fall into the bowl. "You'll gain a lot of power in a short amount of time but you won't gain the wisdom you'll need and eventually, all you'll be able to do is magic as dark as your soul." The water became as black as night and Willow paled. "I'm not trying to scare you but you need to know the dangers that practitioners face. If your magic becomes dark, then Doctor Fate may be called in to deal with you. I don't want that to happen."

"But your magic, you just do it without even trying." Willow replied. "It's suppose to be hard and difficult and trying and you're suppose to put a lot work into it but you don't."

"Willow, I'm genetically human but I'm _homo magi_." Zarina explained. "I'm the descendant of Atlanteans. My children will be _homo magi_ and so will their children. Magic is a part of my being. I don't need to invoke a deity because I already have magic. Like my mother, I keep about two hundred spells on hand but I can improvise when I need to. You need to realize that I might seem to have it easy but you're wrong. I have to use my magic in order to stay confident with it."

"Oh, I got to get to class." Willow said. Her redheaded friend seemed to have a slouch as she walked away.

_I didn't mean for what I said to hurt so much but you had to hear it, Willow._ Zarina thought. _Knowing my luck, Doctor Fate would ask me to defeat you and I don't know if I could._

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

January 8th, 1998

Themyscira

Zarina was drenched in her own sweat as she sat down. She should have known that Wonder Woman's idea of a Christmas gift was too good to be true. The young magician had only been here a week and every day seemed like hell. She didn't know if that so called gift wasn't actually a form of punishment or not but she did seem to be learning. Artemis was only landing three quarters of the blows she threw at her.

"Now I know why this is also called Paradise Island." Zarina said admiring the view.

"If not for the foul magic that befell you, you wouldn't be able to be here." Artemis reminded her.

"Please don't remind me." Zarina said with a laugh. "Still kind of freaks me out."

"Not as much as the bathhouses did, I bet." Artemis replied.

Zarina blushed. _How the hell was she suppose to have known that the Themyscirans had communal bath houses?_ She thought to herself.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Zarina walked into the gym to see Faith and Ted Grant in the boxing ring going at it. Both were sweaty and it was rather evident that they'd been at it for awhile. She walked over to a table that had an outlet near it and set her top hat down on the table with the top of the hat laying flat on the table. She pulled out a blender, a dozen eggs, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, a gallon of milk, three glasses, and a few cans of tuna. Faith and Ted got out of the ring and both smiled in her direction but she guessed that it was for different reasons.

"Thought you could use some Tiger Tonic, Mr. Grant." Zarina informed as she began to combine the ingredients. Some milk, a couple eggs, two cans of tuna, a little Tabasco sauce and she turned the blender on.

Faith stared at the ingredients. "Are you sure that's even healthy?" She asked.

"Hasn't killed me yet." Ted said answering the Slayer's question. "Tiger Tonic, makes you fit and vigor."

Zarina quit blending the ingredients and poured the contents of the blender into the three glasses. She handed a glass to each of them before picking up her own glass. Ted lifted his glass up into the air a bit.

"To good health." He said before drinking his glass.

Faith was shocked when she saw Zarina drink her glass and deciding that it wasn't poisoned, she chose to drink hers and immediately regretted the decision. Her eyes widened and she ran towards where she knew the bathroom was in the gym. Both Ted and Zarina laughed as she ran.

"So, what did we agree upon?" Ted asked. "It's twenty bucks I owe you, kid."

"Personally, I thought her being the Slayer would've helped her." Zarina said taking his money.

"I still don't understand how you did better." Ted replied. "I still think Batman pours his out into a plant."

"It's an acquired taste." Zarina remarked as Faith came back to them a little squeamish. "Still feel up for patrol?"

"Yah, unless I have to drink another Tiger Tonic." Faith replied.

"This town seems too quiet to patrol for anything." Ted said to them. "What do you girls patrol for?"

"Vampires, demons, anything that might want to rip, tear, and mutilate the oblivious residents of a town built upon the mouth of Hell." Zarina replied. "Kinda why I suggested that you head back to LA; I'd really hate to have to fight a vampire version of you and I don't want to piss off a certain blonde who likes to show cleavage."

"Kara might get a little mad at you, that's for sure." Ted said thinking about it. "I'm off and don't forget; we still spar this Friday."

"Looking forward to it." Zarina replied. "Have a safe trip."

"See you later, Wildcat." Faith said getting a surprised look from Zarina.

"I told her, kiddo." Ted said before Zarina said anything. "Figured it would ease a few tensions so that Faith here wouldn't hold back."

"Oh, okay." Zarina said letting out a sigh of relief.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Zarina." Faith said as she plunged a stake into a vampire. "How many superheroes do you know?" She pulled the stake out and the vampire became dust.

"Know personally, about fifteen or twenty." Zarina replied destroying another vampire with a ball of magically conjured fire. "Know, as in they act like they're an overprotective aunt or uncle, seems like all of them. The house seems to have a gift from each of them."

"Cool, might explain a few things I saw in the house." Faith said. "So, seems like patrol is done for the night. It seems too quiet."

"I know." Zarina replied agreeing with her friend. "Something's up. Buffy said that she and Willow were going to be at the Bronze tonight. Maybe they have an idea what the hell's going on."

"Beam me up, Scotty." Faith said knowing what the young magician had planned.

".eznorB eht ot su ekaT" Zarina stated whisking the two away and releasing them in front of the building just as Buffy, Oz, Cordelia, and Snyder came out of the club.

"Zarina, maybe you can figure out what the hell is going on here." Buffy said gesturing to a bizarrely grinning Snyder.

Snyder grinned as he saw Zarina. "Cool, can you do that trick with the rabbit?" He asked her laughing. "I love that trick." Light up in my mind's eye what is effecting the adults.

"Damn, he must have found some good weed." Faith remarked.

"Are most of the adults like this?" Zarina asked.

"Yah, they're acting like they're us." Cordelia remarked.

".stluda eht gnitceffe si tahw eye s'dnim ym ni pu thgiL" Zarina said as a glow came from one of Snyder's pockets. Immediately, she grabbed Snyder and yanked out a chocolate bar. "It's the band candy." She released her hold on Snyder as Buffy grabbed the troll-like principal.

"Where did these chocolate bars come from?" She interrogated the man.

"From the school board who got them from the factory in town." Snyder replied before giving up the address.

"Oz, Cordelia, Willow, go find Giles and tell him where we're going. Faith, Zarina, let's check out that factory." Buffy said.

".ereh yatS" Zarina said to the man as they piled into the Jeep Cherokee that Buffy had apparently driven here.

Riding in the same vehicle as Buffy was driving said vehicle was an experience that she didn't want to repeat. Needless to say, they did arrive safely at the factory to see a hoard of adults were gathered around the back entrance as the factory workers were throwing more of the chocolate bars to the masses. Buffy noticed her mother and Giles were already there and ran over to them.

"Giles, Mom, you don't want anymore chocolate." Buffy ordered her Watcher and her mother.

"It's alright, Buffy." Giles replied. "We ran into Zatanna a little bit ago and she purged us of the magic that had affected us."

Seemingly relieved, Buffy and Faith knocked out the guards and the quintet entered the factory where they saw the individual responsible. Before Buffy or Giles would say the man's name, they were beaten to the punch.

"RAYNE!" Zarina shouted running towards the mage who's eyes widened with surprise.

"Oh shit!" Ethan shouted and tried to run away but was tackled to the ground as the young female magician began to rain blows down upon him.

"WHO UNBOUND YOUR MAGIC?!" Zarina shouted at him landing a blow with each word. "FAUST? MORGAN LE FAY? CIRCE? WHO WAS IT, YOU SON OF A BITCH?! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME, YOU BASTARD!"

Alarmed, Buffy yanked Zarina off of Ethan and put a hand over her mouth in order to make certain the young magician didn't say anything she might regret. Giles picked Ethan up and slammed him into a wall.

"What the bloody hell did you do to her?" Giles asked concerned over hatred that Zarina seemed to have for his former friend.

"I just sold a magician costume last Halloween." Ethan replied wiping blood from his broken nose. "That's all."

Buffy let go of Zarina feeling the tears that the magician had shed on her hand as she fit the pieces together. She began to shake her head as her own tears began to fall from her eyes.

"It can't be." She exclaimed. "It just can't be."

"It can't be what, honey?" Joyce asked her daughter.

Faith could only stare in disbelief as one of her personal heroes fell to the ground crying. She went over to Zarina to comfort her like the magician had comforted her in the past.

"Xander?" Buffy asked in disbelief. "Is that really you?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Zarina exclaimed. "You guys weren't suppose to find out."

Giles' look of anger for Rayne was replaced with a look of disbelief. "Good Lord, how could this be possible?" He asked himself.

"!EMOH EM EKAT" Zarina shouted teleporting herself away from the factory and Faith looked over at Buffy and Giles with only one thing to say.

"For those of us in the studio audience, who's Xander?" She asked.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

After taking care of the situation that Rayne had been subcontracted out to distract them from, Giles and Buffy stood on the front porch of Zarina's home as Faith had already went in. Having already been warned about the wards that had been placed on the home, neither the Watcher nor the blonde Slayer were going to chance what effect the wards might have on either of them. Neither of them had told the others what they had found out because they didn't even believe it themselves but Zarina's reaction seemed to leave what evidence they had to seem rather credible. The door opened and Zatanna stood there gesturing them in. Giles was reluctant to go in and it wasn't about the wards. Zatanna's face could speak volumes without the magician uttering a single word. She was mad as hell.

"I temporarily bypassed the wards." Zatanna informed them. "The bypass won't last long."

Buffy and Giles entered and Zatanna gestured them into the living room where they sat down.

"What the hell did you do to Xander?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing, except let one of my top hats get stolen." Zatanna answered.

"Why the hell hasn't anyone changed him back and—!" Buffy exclaimed before Zatanna interrupted her.

"Reyals eb teiuq." Zatanna interrupted causing Buffy to not be able to speak. "Rayne managed to tap into true chaos with his spell and my stolen top hat had caused the spell to be able to copy my soul in order for the possession to be successful. When the spell ended, my cloned soul and the soul of your friend merged."

"You mean that Zarina is an amalgamation of both you and Xander." Giles replied. "How is that even possible?"

"Believe me, Mr. Giles. No one knows but there was nothing anyone could do." Zatanna told them. "For a while, she was kept on suicide watch as she had began to go insane. She was still trying to think like Xander and myself and it was causing her mental breakdown."

Giles could see the tears begin to run down Zatanna's cheeks as she recounted the events that had occurred.

"I stayed there in the Watchtower watching her slip further and further away and I couldn't take it anymore." She continued. "I ran into her room and hugged her tightly. That's when I named my daughter."

"But..." Giles said before the magician interrupted him.

"Don't you even think about saying what I know you were about to say." Zatanna snapped at the Watcher. "Zarina is more my daughter than Buffy is like yours. I love her with every fiber of my being and if either of you do anything to harm her, trust me on one thing. There will be a long line that starts behind me of people who will beat you to death with shovels. Coming back here to try to protect those she left here was the hardest decision she'd ever made and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you fault her for doing so."

"But why the charade?" Giles asked. "We had thought Xander was dead and now for him now being Zarina; what are we suppose to think?"

"Batman investigated Alexander's life here and wanted to come down here and dangle a bleeding Anthony Harris from a street light." Zatanna replied. "Plus, Zarina needed to learn control of her powers which Doctor Fate and I taught her. Besides, it wasn't like she could have just picked up where she left off."

"Can I see her?" Giles pleaded.

Faith entered the living room looking rather tired. "Not now, she just cried herself to sleep." She told them.

"You know then?" Giles said a little surprised. "You don't seem taken aback by it."

"Zarina's my friend, doesn't matter who or what she was in the past." Faith replied. "I know her now; that's what matters."

Zatanna gestured for Giles and Buffy to leave and they were ushered towards the door.

"Don't worry, Buffy." Zatanna said to the Slayer. "The spell will wear off in a few minutes after you leave."

"Ms. Zatara, if you would," Giles pleaded again. "tell Zarina that I still care. That hasn't changed."

"I will, Mr. Giles." Zatanna replied. "Good night."

"Good night." Giles replied before he led a furious Buffy away.

Zatanna walked back into the living room after closing the front door to find Faith sitting down on the couch. She sat down next to the brunette Slayer.

"Thank you for what you said." Zatanna said. "I'm glad you and my daughter are friends."

"So am I." Faith replied. "I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't of met her that night when she saved me and Diana from Kakistos."

"You look tired, Faith." Zatanna said. "Good night."

"Good night, Ms. Zatara." Faith replied before one of Zatanna's hands grabbed hers.

"Faith, my friends call me Zatanna." Zatanna informed her smiling.

"Good night, Zatanna." Faith said before heading off to bed.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

A white semi with a long white trailer was driving down the highway. The driver of the semi glanced over at his female partner.

"So, what do you think this Wilkins guy wants with our cargo?" He asked.

"I don't know." His partner said. "But I hear it's going to be a big bang, Baby."

Author's End Notes: Originally, the company that Zarina was going to accidentally take over was going to have been LexCorp but I decided against it because it would have caused a few problems so I went with K.O.R.D. Industries. Man, do I suck at foreshadowing anyway because I think any idiot can guess what's to come for the poor residents of Sunnydale. Well, read and review and hopefully the plot bunnies will keep multiplying for this story.


	5. Uncovered Truth

*****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS FIC. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS, I BELIEVE, OWNS ITSELF.**********************************************************************

Chapter 5

Uncovered Truth

Lana Lang walked into the boardroom of K.O.R.D. Industries and several of the company's directors were gazing at her cautiously. Her reputation was well known as the former C.E.O. of LexCorp but even she wondered who exactly had recommended to Ms. Zatara. She sat down at the head of the table and ignored the few looks of contempt from a few of the directors.

"Good morning." She said greeting them. "As all of you are aware, Ms. Zatara has appointed me to act on her behalf. She has already sent to me a few items that she would like to be implemented and..."

"Ms. Lang, I do not understand this project "Slayer" that Ms. Zatara is so interested in." One of the directors, a gray-haired man who seemed as though he'd been in the business world since the Great Depression, said. "K.O.R.D. Industries' best interests does not lie in the business of suppling materials to aid superheroes.

"No, but K.O.R.D. Industries' best interests do lie in making certain that there is still a world left in order to do business in." Lana replied. "Gentlemen, how many of you have a daughter?" She received several acknowledgments from the directors. "The Slayer is a young girl that is mystically endowed to fight against the demons, vampires, and other supernatural forces that seek to do harm."

"Your point, Ms. Lang." Said another director.

"They can be Called by whatever mystical force to become the Slayer as young as thirteen." Lana replied. "After being Called, the average life span of the Slayer is six months. Upon death, the power moves on to another girl which starts the cycle over again. This has been going on for the last few thousand years."

Audible gasps were heard from the board members. No doubt was in Lana's mind that they were thinking about the horrors that these girls must have went through. She was certain that many of them were thinking about their own daughters being forced to go through those same events.

"According to my research, these girls have never seen their nineteenth birthday as they die long before that." Lana continued. "On their eighteenth birthday, they lose their powers and are forced to fight a master vampire. Almost every time, the vampire slaughters the girl. If the girl survives, then those whom she trusted tend to have her killed in order to keep control."

"They murder her after she somehow manages to get away with her life." Another board member exclaimed. "Who in the hell would do something like this?"

"The International Council Of Watchers, a secret society based out of Great Britain that believe that the Slayer is nothing more than their property to do with as they please." Lana answered. "They're fighting a war they aren't even trying to win."

A middle-aged woman with red hair went through the folder she had in front of her. "What is this Project SLAYER that you wish for this company to devote resources to enact?" She asked.

"Essentially, it's my plan to bring the Slayer out of the Dark Ages and take down the council." Lana informed them. "Are we in agreement?"

Not a dissenting vote was cast.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Joyce and Zatanna were walking away from the Espresso Pump with each of them holding a cup. Both of them seemed a little hesitant to talk to the other but they knew they had to.

"Is she happy?" Joyce asked.

"She is now." Zatanna replied. "It was hard at first, for both of us, but we pulled each other through it. Zarina is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. I love her."

"I know." Joyce told her. "You have the same look on your face as people told me I do when I talk about Buffy or Dawn."

"Is Buffy coping at all?" Zatanna asked. "I don't want to think what Zarina might go through if Willow finds out. She cares so much about Willow."

"A little." Joyce replied. "I think she's more worried Dawn might find out. Ever since that one live performance Zarina did on television a couple of months ago, your daughter has become Dawn's idol."

"Kinda funny. Zarina told me that she had thought Dawn had a crush on Xander." Zatanna said.

Joyce would have replied had a huge hairy demon not landed on someone's sedan. An orange and blue clad girl looked over the side of the building that the demon had been thrown from and it looked as though she was grinning.

"Damn, Slayer!" She exclaimed. "Did you hit it hard enough?"

Joyce could see another girl in what looked like an improvised costume. It mainly looked like the other girl had worn leather boots, leather pants, a tight leather jacket, as well as a mask that looked as though she might have stolen it from a Zorro costume. She was certain that it wasn't her daughter because Buffy should have been in school so she knew that it had to have been that other girl, Faith.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time, Ravager." Faith responded. "Besides, it was either that or let that thing hit you."

"It's getting away." Zarina said popping up from behind them.

The demon had pulled itself from the car and began to walk away. Ravager pulled out a small round device and threw it at the demon. The device incinerated the demon and both Zarina and Faith glared at the one-eyed girl.

"What?" Ravager asked. "It's just like you tell me, Zee. There is no such thing as overkill, only unacceptable losses. I just wish that Bug Boy figured that part out and he'd have an easier time."

Zatanna and Joyce went over to them as the trio leapt from the top of the building. Joyce seemed a bit concerned about the height and worried if the girls were hurt. Zarina saw the look on Joyce's face.

"Relax, I've fell from greater heights." Zarina said attempting to reassure her.

"Usually, someone catches you before you broke anything." Ravager informed Zarina.

"Hey, it still counts." Zarina replied. "You okay, Slayer?"

"Five by five, Zarina." Faith answered. "Zatanna, Mrs. Summers, what are you doing here?"

"Trying to figure out why you killed that particular demon." Zatanna replied. "There had better be a good reason. I'm assuming that this was Ravager's idea."

"Right there, Zatanna." Ravager said. "I saw this lady trying to burn a redhead, Zarina, and some blonde that kept reminding me of Wonder Bi—Girl at the stake because of that thing."

Joyce looked confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Mrs. Summers, one of Ravager's abilities is precognition." Zarina explained. "I've learned to trust it."

"So that thing was going to cause me to burn my own daughter at the stake?" Joyce asked. "It's a good thing that it's dead."

"I'm just glad that we were able to get it now." Zarina told Joyce. "Who knows what else might have happened if we didn't?"

"Aren't you suppose to be in school?" Zatanna asked her daughter.

"Yes but the demon would've hurt people." Zarina said trying to convince her mother.

"Aren't you suppose to be in school?" Zatanna asked repeating herself.

Zarina's head turned towards the ground. "Yes, Mom." She replied. "Sorry."

"It couldn't have been helped, Zatanna." Ravager tried to explain. "The demon would've been gone by the time Zarina got outta school. It had to have been now."

"Fine but now that's school is just about over; what do you plan to do tonight?" Zatanna asked the trio.

"I have a patrol to do with B and Giles." Faith answered.

"I'm headed back to the Tower." Ravager replied. "I'm sorry but I don't like the idea of staying here tonight."

"That's okay." Zarina said. "I borrowed a book from Doctor Fate anyway that I've been wanting to read."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third sat down at his desk and popped a couple of aspirin into his mouth. He took a drink of water from a glass and set the glass back down on a coaster. He looked over at Deputy Mayor Finch and smiled.

"So, are the preparations in place?" Wilkins asked.

"Yes, the mage you hired cast a combination agitation/aggravation spell on The Bronze." Finch reported. "Anyone who walks into the club will be affected by the spell."

"Does Detective Stein has the new gas grenades to respond with?" Wilkins asked.

"Of course, sir." Finch replied.

"What about our small group of vigilantes that keep our fair city from succumbing to the nonhuman forces of darkness?" Wilkins asked.

"The Watcher is monitoring the two Slayers patrol tonight. Miss Zatara is suppose to be reading a book at home." Finch informed the Mayor. "I was unable to find out the whereabouts of Miss Chase. Miss Rosenberg and Mister Osbourne are on a date."

Wilkins sighed at the last sentence. "Young love, I remember my first love." Wilkins told Finch. "I think it was about fifteen years before the Spanish-American War."

"Sir, is there anything else?" Finch asked.

"No, you can go." Wilkins told him.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

June 4, 1998

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, South America

It was the night before her first international show and the tension was almost killing her. Zarina had left the hotel about an hour ago and found herself walking down a dark street when she heard the scream. She ran towards the scream to see a pair of vampires that she hadn't been expecting to see.

"Spike?" She asked wondering if it was the same bleached-blonde vampire that Xander had known in Sunnydale.

The two master vampires turned around to look at her and while Spike had a look of confusion written over his face, Drusilla seemed to recognize her. She clapped her hands with glee.

"Spikey, it's my kitten magician." Drusilla said smiling with glee.

"Well, clearly Dru recognizes you but I don't." Spike said to Zarina. "I know she never uses the same name for two different people so why she's calling you the same name she gave to some friend of the Slayer is beyond me."

"Spikey, the costume man who made the Slayer go away on Halloween turned my kitten into a lady." Drusilla told Spike which caused the master vampire to have an amused look on his face.

"You mean you're the Whelp?!" Spike asked Zarina.

"Used to be." Zarina replied not really sure why she was having a conversation with the two vampires rather than dusting them. "Now, I'm Zarina."

"Well, looks like no Slayer around to save you." Spike said grinning. "So, do you want this quick?"

Drusilla grabbed Spike and turned him around to face her delivering a swift slap to his face. He didn't look too happy.

"What was that for, Dru?" Spike asked.

"You can't hurt her." Drusilla told him. "If you hurt her, her new mummy will be cross with us and so will her aunts and uncles."

"What do I care if some family gets pissed?" Spike asked her. "I'm still hungry."

"But her mummy is the Mistress of Magic and she would ask her little friends who where capes to help find us." Dru tried to explain. "The Last Son and the Dark Knight would be joined by the Princess and the Green Man. Besides, I just loved the show she did on the telly." Drusilla turned and smiled at Zarina. "I've been trying to get Spike to take me to the show you're doing tomorrow but he keeps telling me they're sold out."

_Wow!_ Zarina thought. _I've got an insane vampire for a fan. Can we say STALKER MATERIAL?!_

Zarina reached into her top hat and pulled out a few things. A couple of the things she pulled out were a Sharpie and a glossy. She wrote a message on the photograph and handed it to the dark-haired vampire woman who smile seemed to never leave her face.

"Thank you, Kitten." Drusilla said. "I'll treasure it always."

"Now, if you promise not to eat anyone at the show;" Zarina said handing a couple of tickets over. "these are for you."

Drusilla snatched the tickets into her hands and tears of joy seemed to be running down her cheeks. "Spike, we can see the show." Drusilla said gleefully.

"Great, see you at the show." Spike said as the two vampires left her alone.

When the vampires were out of earshot, Zarina shook her head. "Did I just invite two vampires to see my show?" She asked herself. "Well, at least one of them is a fan and knows better than to try to eat me."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The phone rang and Zarina walked over to answer it. The voice on the other end wasn't someone she had expected to call.

"Hello, my kitten magician." Drusilla said to her. "It's your oldest fan ever, Dru."

"Hi, Dru." Zarina replied. "How in the hell did you get this number?"

"From a friendly person who asked me if I wanted to reach out and touch someone, then I ate her." Drusilla informed her.

"Great, so what's up?" She asked trying to figure out what the vampire wanted.

"Miss Edith told me there's going to be a Big Bang where you are." Drusilla informed her. "She told me to tell you that it'll be like when your dark friend got his shocking power."

Zarina's eyes widened with that little bit of information. She had known already that Drusilla was a seer and the reference to Static was the final nail in the coffin in trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"Oh great." Zarina replied sarcastically. "This is so what I need right now. Thanks, Dru."

"You're welcome and turn on the telly." Drusilla said before hanging up the phone.

Zarina hung up the phone and went into the living room. She turned the television on to find it already on a news report showing her the location of where Sunnydale's Big Bang had occurred. Take me to the school library

".yrarbil loohcs eht ot em ekaT" She said teleporting herself to the library.

She found herself in one of the rows of shelves listening in on a conversation going on within the room between Giles, Buffy, Faith, and some British woman.

"The Labyrinth Maps of Malta?" The British woman asked.

"Now, what possible reason would Giles need the map of some island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea when he is located in California?" She asked walking out from the shelves.

Faith smiled. "Hey, Zarina." She said. "When did you get here?"

The British woman glared at her. It was obvious from the glare she was giving Zarina that she didn't like surprises. "Who are you?" She demanded.

Giles stepped forward thankful that Zarina had interrupted the woman's tirade. "Gwendolyn Post, meet Zarina Zatara." Giles said introducing the two. "Ms. Post is Faith's new Watcher."

"I was wondering who Mary Poppins was so listen, we have a problem." Zarina said.

"Yes, we know." Giles informed her. "The demon, Lagos, is coming to look for his glove."

"Glove?" Zarina asked. "No, bigger than some damn glove."

"What could possibly be bigger than some powerful demon coming to get a glove that will make him even more powerful?" Buffy asked.

Faith noticed the look on Zarina's face. "Oh, fuck me running." Faith exclaimed. "Who's going to attack the fucking planet this time?"

"Faith, language." Post said scolding her charge.

"No one is attacking Earth." Zarina said receiving a sigh of relief from Faith. "Someone set off a Big Bang at the Bronze."

"Good Lord." Giles exclaimed. "Who would blow up the Bronze?"

"Not that kind of Big Bang." Zarina informed him. "The police responded to a riot at the Bronze and used their new gas grenades to quell it."

"That seems perfectly normal." Giles remarked.

"Normally yes, but I received a phone call from a rather reliable source who told me it wasn't ordinary." Zarina continued. "The last time a Big Bang occurred, several people were turned into metahumans. Some of them were extremely powerful as well as extremely dangerous."

"Good lord." Giles said grabbing his glasses to clean them with his shirt. "Miss Post, perhaps we can call it a night."

"Yes, perhaps that would be the best." Post replied. "Don't want to draw too much attention."

Post left the library and Giles directed his attention towards Zarina. "Who was it that called you?" He asked.

"Drusilla, I met her and Spike in Rio de Janeiro." Zarina explained. "You might find this funny but Dru's a fan of mine."

This prompted a bit of laughter from Buffy. "Great, psycho vampire chick's one of your fans." She said. "What did she do, leave you a bouquet of headless puppies for a gift?"

"No, but she did tell me that the gas used in the riot response wasn't ordinary thanks to her reference to Static." Zarina said. "Static is a Bang Baby having received his powers in the Big Bang of Dakota City. The similarities between the Big Bang of Dakota City and the Big Bang that just occurred tonight are too close to ignore."

"You think someone might have wanted to cause this to happen to those poor people at The Bronze?" Giles asked.

"I can't be certain but I'll keep my ear to the ground, so to speak." Zarina replied. "What about this glove?"

"Mary Poppins said some demon was coming for it and it was supposedly hidden in one of the crypts in town." Faith explained.

"Well, could she vague it up so more?" Zarina asked Faith. "There's at least forty-seven of them in town."

"That's why we need to narrow it down." Giles informed her. "I'm going to consult a few of my books."

"I'll help with the research." Zarina said. "I might be able to find out a few more details."

"Wow, you doing research?" Buffy asked amazed. "That's so unlike you."

"You mean that's unlike Xander, don't you?" Zarina snapped. "Xander is part of what makes me but not all of me."

"You're wrong." Buffy exclaimed. "We're going to find a way to bring him back."

"Buffy, I've had the most powerful good witches, sorcerers, and wizards tell me it's impossible!" Zarina shouted. "I've had the darkest forces of evil try and tempt me to their side on the promise of restoring Xander but I held my ground. I even stopped others from time traveling to stop Ethan beforehand because the price to restore Xander would have been too high."

"But Xander didn't deserve to die." Buffy exclaimed. "Why can't you see that?"

".emoh em ekaT" Zarina said ignoring Buffy and teleporting herself away.

"She knows I'm right." Buffy told Giles.

Faith looked over at her sister Slayer disgusted. "How could you be such a cold-hearted fucking bitch?" Faith asked.

"Faith, you just don't understand." Buffy said trying to make the other Slayer see her way about the situation.

"No, you don't seem to understand." Faith exclaimed. "You weren't there trying to console her when you two found out. Zatanna was worried that she might try to kill herself again."

Giles' face shown his concern and he said. "I never knew she was suicidal."

"Zatanna gave me the unedited version of what she had told you two and it wasn't pretty." Faith explained. "If it hadn't been for the Flash, we wouldn't even be having this little chat. Anyway, I'd better catch up with my watcher."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

It was a couple of nights later that Zarina found herself in Restfield Cemetery. Her search through the Library of Infinity had been fruitless but then, she had an idea to talk to Jason Blood and it had paid off. Apparently, Etrigan had wanted the Glove of Myhnegon destroyed as well as it had been previously used against him by an enemy from his past. Etrigan had placed a charm on the glove in order to locate it if it had came free from said enemy and using the charm in conjunction with a map of Sunnydale had narrowed it down to this location. She got close to a crypt when she noticed someone exiting it

".dnim morf em ediH" She said. ".thgis morf em ediH"

She knew the spell concealed her from whomever exited the crypt but she did recognize that it was Angel who had. It didn't make sense.

_I thought Deadboy was dead._ She thought to herself as she began to follow him.

Zarina followed the vampire back to the Crawford mansion to see Buffy kissing the vampire passionately.

_I've got to tell Giles._ She thought before leaving.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Buffy walked into the library proclaiming her current possession of the glove but was perplexed by the looks she was getting from Giles, Willow, Cordelia, Oz, and Zarina. She sat down in a seat.

"We know Angel is alive, Buffy." Giles told her. "Zarina saw you with him last night."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Zarina asked. "Harboring a known murderer like Angel could get you a one way ticket to the Shadowpact's prison; I don't want to see that happen to you."

"He's better now." Buffy exclaimed. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Maybe it's the fact that I saw you making out with him last night." Zarina told her.

Buffy glared at the magician. "You were spying on me last night." She said with her voice seemingly dripping with venom. "What gives you the right?"

"Giles, no one is sticking to the I sentences." Willow exclaimed with anxiety.

"You were always jealous, weren't you." Buffy said to Zarina ignoring everyone else in the room. "You always did hate Angel."

"Buffy, get over yourself." Cordelia said trying to figure out why in the hell she'd be talking to Zarina as if Zarina had known Buffy and Angel before coming to Sunnydale. She also realized that Zarina was being strangely effected by what Buffy was saying to her. The magician girl's eyes were tearing up.

"BUFFY! SHUT UP!" Zarina yelled.

"WHY!? It's okay for you to have secrets that you think your friends shouldn't know but it isn't okay for me!" Buffy yelled back.

"Buffy, don't." Zarina said quietly. "Please don't."

"Why not?!" Buffy exclaimed. "Since we're revealing my secrets to them, why not reveal your secrets too? Isn't that right, Xander."

Silence pervaded the library after Buffy called Zarina by the name of one of the lost members of their group. Zarina seemed to be shaking with fear. Giles walked over to comfort her but the young magician pulled away from him.

"How could you?" Zarina asked Buffy. "I thought you were my friend."

"No, I'm Xander's friend." Buffy replied. "You're no better than a vampire. You've been using Xander's memories to further your own ends."

The others in the library gazed at the two quietly as they saw Zarina's tear-streaked face fill with anger.

"Don't you fucking compare me to that vamp bitch that killed Jesse!" Zarina yelled. Zarina's eyes widened as she saw the luck of satisfaction on Buffy's face. "You are a fucking bitch."

Willow was naturally the first to pick up the clue. "How could you know Jesse?" She demanded as she walked over to Zarina. "I've never seen you in Sunnydale before so how could you know him and why would Buffy call you Xander?"

"Willow, please don't..." Zarina said pleading with her friend.

"Resolve face." Willow replied. When Zarina tried to look away, Willow slapped the girl and was surprised when she hit the floor.

"What was Xander's costume that Halloween, Willow?" Zarina asked looking back up at the redheaded girl. Willow saw that Zarina's cheek was still red from the slap.

Willow's eyes widened. "It can't be." Willow told herself. "It can't be."

"Oh my god." Cordelia said remembering what Xander had worn. "This doesn't make any sense."

"I'm confused." Oz added. "I didn't see Xander on Halloween."

"He dressed up like a magician and disappeared that night." Cordelia told the werewolf. "We thought he was dead."

Willow's eyes seemed to be pleading for an answer. "Xander, is that really you?" She asked Zarina.

Zarina shook her head. "Not anymore." She replied. ".emoh em ekaT"

Zarina teleported out of the library and Giles grabbed a hold of Buffy. "Why did you do that to her?" Giles asked. "She trusted you to keep that a secret."

"Giles, she betrayed us." Buffy tried to explain. "We had thought Xander was dead and then she swoops in trying to take his place."

"You're wrong, Buffy." Cordelia exclaimed. "Zarina may be a lot of things but she isn't Xander."

"Well, that might not be exactly true." Giles told Cordelia. "Ethan's spell somehow tapped into true chaos. The top hat that Xander had been wearing for his costume transformed him into Zatanna, Zarina's mother, and Zatanna transported herself to the Justice League Watchtower. When the spell ended, they had found out that Zatanna's soul had been copied. The residual magic had not only turned Xander's body into how you see Zarina now but it also merged Xander's soul and the cloned soul together."

"But how can that happen, Giles?" Willow asked. "There has to be a way to get Xander back."

"There isn't a way and before you try anything, let me tell you something." Giles snapped at Willow, a little bit of Ripper could be heard in his voice. "Whether or not you believe me or not, Zarina came back and risked all of this to try to help keep all of you safe. She did it despite what might happen because she cares for all of you as much as Xander did. Whenever you look at Zarina, you're also looking at what is left of Xander because of what Ethan Rayne did that night."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Faith walked into the house via the outside door that lead into the kitchen to hear what sounded like someone was crying. She saw a note on the fridge from Zatanna telling them that she was out on a mission for the League but Faith walked out of the kitchen and walked up the stairs to Zarina's room. Faith entered Zarina's room to find her friend just now asleep with a journal laying open. She picked up the journal.

"'I can't believe Buffy told them.'" Faith read from the journal. "'Now, they all know what happened to Xander. Willow probably hates me. Cordy is probably spreading it around school. Don't really know about Oz. He seems like he'd keep it a secret. I can't handle Willow hating me for not being here. Why did Buffy have to say it at all? We just had to confront her about Angel...'"

Faith laid the journal back down. She had an idea now what had happened. Walking back into her own room, she went to open her closet to get out her costume. She had only one thing on her mind. It was a rather base emotion but it would due for now.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Angel had just thrown Ms. Post into the wall. He had a good idea as to why the woman wanted the glove but he wasn't going to let her have it. Before he could knock her out, a small explosion ripped apart his front door. The master vampire turned to see a leather clad individual strolling in with a stake in her right hand.

"Ms. Post!" She exclaimed before turning her attention to the vampire. "You know; I was just going to slay your sorry undead ass out of revenge for what B did to Zarina but saving my Watcher from you seems like a slightly more noble goal at the moment."

Slayer charged Angel and delivered a swift kick to his chest sending him flying away from the Watcher. On his back, Angel watched as she came down with the stake only for Buffy to show up and shift Slayer's attention to her. They fought and found themselves in the outside area with the tree close to the now shattered glass door.

"Why are you trying to kill him?" Buffy asked. "He's a good man."

"Wrong, he's a fucking vampire." Slayer said delivering a kick to Buffy's right side. "As to why I'm trying to kill him, I could give you some little short and sweet answer pertaining to the fact that I'm a Slayer but it would be utter bullshit."

"Then, why are you trying to kill him, Faith?" Buffy asked dodging a punch from Slayer.

"One, when the costume is on, I'm Slayer." Slayer replied landing a knee strike to Buffy's torso. "Two, you hurt someone I love so I hurt someone you love."

That response would have surprised Buffy had she been paying attention because her attention was focused on Ms. Post wearing the glove and holding her glove clad arm into the air. She chanted in what sounded like Latin and lightning struck the glove.

"Faith, you're an idiot." Post said before firing a lightning blast towards the two slayers which was dodged.

Buffy looked over at Slayer to see a short sword in each of Slayer's hands. She had a perplexed look on her face.

"Where in the hell did those come from?" She asked.

Slayer pointed to a pair of golden bracelets she had on her hands. "Zarina made them. She said something about folded space or something like that." Slayer replied. "Bit of a bitch to retrieve anything from them cuz you have to say it backwards."

Slayer then stood up seeing her 'watcher' fire the glove at Willow who was saved at the last second by Angel. She held up the swords.

"Hey, Poppins!" Slayer yelled. "THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!"

Post turned around in order to fire the glove at the slayer to see the swords twirl through the air at her. She dodged the swords but hadn't expected a third sword to fly at her. The third sword decapitated the Watcher and before her body hit the floor, lightning consumed her leaving the glove behind. Slayer strolled over to what was left of Angel's front door.

"You better be glad, Fang, that you saved Red." Slayer told Angel. "Otherwise, we'd have to continue this."

With that being said, Slayer left the mansion behind.

Author's End Notes: Well, this counts as my longest chapter yet. I hope everyone likes it. Please read and review.


	6. The Wish, Part One

***I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FAN FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND I BELIEVE DC COMICS OWNS ITSELF.**********************

Chapter 6

The Wish, Part One

Zarina was sitting in the library flipping through the book she had been trying to read for the last few weeks. It wasn't that she couldn't understand the book. Her heart just wasn't into reading the damned tome. The revelation to the core group had caused several rifts to form while strangely enough, some rifts didn't form as she had thought. Buffy didn't accept her help with patrols and Willow was diving headlong into her magic. It had gotten to the point where Giles had asked Zarina to enchant the library so that books couldn't be taken out of it without his knowing. That hadn't stopped Willow's attempts at all. It had merely made her more determined. Oz and Giles were in the library as well. Both of them seemed to have taken the news better than the rest of the group.

"How are you feeling, Zarina?" Giles asked.

"About what?" Zarina asked back to Giles without taking her eyes from the tome.

"You know what I'm asking about." Giles told her with a concerned tone in his voice.

"You mean the fact that my old friends hate me or the fact that they're trying to find a way to kill me." Zarina replied.

"I don't think Willow's trying to kill you." Oz said trying to stand up for his girlfriend.

"Oz, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to stick up for Willow but you do realize that any spell she tries in order to bring back Xander will end up killing me in the process." Zarina said to the teenage werewolf. "Half of my soul is Xander and if she somehow manages to do what she wants to do then I'm dead. Rayne's spell killed Xander and brought me to life but no one has the right to try to undue that."

"She's just mourning her best friend all over again." Oz replied. "It wasn't easy for her finding out like she did."

"I know but she needs to realize that there are some problems that magic can not solve." Zarina told Oz.

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At about the same time, Willow and Buffy were outside the school sitting down on the grass. Willow was looking through a spell book.

"Find anything yet?" Buffy asked.

"No, these books I've had to get from the Magic Box are useless." Willow replied. "Giles and Oz don't seem to understand that all I'm trying to do is get Xander back. "

"At least you didn't have your mom and Zatanna team up against you." Buffy told her friend. "They lectured me for most of the night and I couldn't leave because Zatanna kept freezing me in position when I tried to escape. It only stopped when Dawn came home and she was freaked that Zatanna was in our house."

"Were any threats made your way?" Willow asked.

"Only that I might end up joining Zatanna's magic act..." Buffy said. "...as the rabbit pulled out of the hat."

"I just can't sit around when I know that there has to be some spell that can restore Xander." Willow said to Buffy. "I owe it to him to save him. It just seems like I'm being blocked from every direction that I try to attack this problem."

"Maybe we should give this up, Willow." Buffy said with a sigh. "Zarina has a lot more powerful people backing her up and Faith won't stop coming after Angel every night. It's like she has something to prove."

"I'm not giving up on Xander!" Willow exclaimed. "I'm getting him back one way or another."

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Also at about the same time, Cordelia was leaning against a row of lockers with her head down. Several thoughts were going through her head and she was confused by several of them. The new girl, Anya Jenkins, had put some kind of necklace around her neck.

"I just wish Buffy never came to Sunnydale." She said without thinking about what she was saying.

"Done." She heard Anya say before everything seemed to change.

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Zarina grabbed a hold of a bookshelf as a wave of nausea passed over her. The nausea passed as quickly as it had came and she stepped away from the shelf to see Oz and Giles were still in the library. She noticed that Oz's hair color had changed and Giles seemed to have aged a little worse than normal. They turned to look at her and clearly didn't recognize her from the looks on their faces.

"Who are you?" Giles asked. "I don't recall hearing about any new students."

"Giles, I know this might sound a little strange but I think reality as I know it may have been altered." Zarina said trying to explain. "My name is Zarina Zatara. Half of what makes up my soul use to be someone you might have known as Xander Harris and the other half is the cloned soul of my mother, Zatanna Zatara."

"How could a soul be copied?" Giles asked a bit confused but never the less curious.

"For me, last year's Halloween is when it happened. Ethan Rayne, I believe you know him quite well, put a spell on his costumes that caused whomever wore them to turn into their costumes that night." Zarina explained. "That night, he tapped into pure chaos. Xander dressed as a magician and his top hat had been stolen from Zatanna Zatara. When the spell ended, I was what was left."

"How can you be sure that reality has been altered?" Giles asked.

"Aside from the fact that Oz's hair is different and the fact that neither of you recognize me, I'm betting that the nightlife here is a lot braver without Buffy here." Zarina said. "Before you ask, the reason that I know she isn't here is evident. You seem to be a bit more older from what I think is stress and Oz doesn't seem as happy. So, I'm guessing Buffy didn't stop the Master?"

"No, something far worse stopped the Master." Giles replied. "One of those that he turned, a girl named Willow..."

Giles noticed Zarina grow pale from shock and watched as the teenager found an empty chair to sit in. She gestured for him to continue with his story.

"Something bizarre happened to Willow." Giles continued. "Had it simply been the unheard of magical power the new vampire had that might have been one thing but she had some kind of unfathomable power over probability that she used to take her sire's place as the ruler of the Hellmouth."

"Oh goddess." Zarina said. "My best friend is a freaking insanely powerful vampire and I'm guessing that the Xander in this reality is probably her favored childe right."

"Yes, how did you know?" Giles asked.

"My luck tends to be like that." Zarina said. "Okay, find Cordelia and see if you can figure out what vengeance demon she made the wish with."

"Why do you think it was her?" A very familiar voice asked.

Zarina turned around to see who it was and a gasp of shock escaped from her. Her eyes gushed with tears as she ran over to hug someone who she thought she'd never see again.

"Jesse, I can't believe it's you." She said crying.

"Jeeves, care to explain?" Jesse asked.

"Willow's sixth birthday, her parents had her birthday cake delivered to her house because they were stuck in Cleveland. We weren't allowed to play with matches or lighters so me and you taped little flames on the candles so that Willow could try to make her wish." Zarina said. "She blew and she blew until she got blue in the face and then she passed out and fell into the cake."

Jesse shoved her off of him. A look of anger was clear on his face. "Who the hell are you?" He asked. "The only two people who could have known that are both fucking vampires so who the hell are you."

"Before a chaos mage worked his craft on Halloween, I was Xander." Zarina answered.

"But that's not possible." Jesse said trying to disbelieve her. "Xander's dead."

She realized that she had to put this into terms that her brother from another mother could understand. "Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode: Mirror, Mirror." She said to them.

"The one were they go to the evil mirror universe?" Jesse asked.

"Yah." Zarina said nodding her head.

"So, you're from a parallel universe." Jesse stated. "One where I died."

"Yah." Zarina admitted a little weakly.

Jesse shook his head. "Don't blame yourself." Jesse said. "Knowing this town, I probably ended up a vampire."

"I was the one to stake you, Jess." Zarina replied.

"Good to know." Jesse said.

Suddenly, the windows of the library exploded as vampires rushed the room. Zarina, Jesse, Oz, and Giles tried to fight back but the sheer number of vampires caused the battle to be quickly one-sided. Zarina was thrown to the ground as the vampires retreated. She got back up to see Oz and Jesse were still there but Giles had gone missing. Jesse's gaze went to a book that laid open and he picked it up. He shrugged and handed it to Zarina.

"You know Latin?" He asked.

She took the book from him and began to read the page. A gasp escaped her and Jesse raised an eyebrow.

"I'll take that as a bad sign." He said to her.

"Vamp Willow is preparing to do a ritual that is simply called 'Eternal Night'." Zarina said. "If she pulls this spell off..."

"I can imagine." Jesse replied. "So, what do we do?"

That was when they heard the scream. Zarina and Jesse ran out into the hall to see a very familiar vampire try to sink his teeth into Cordelia. A thrust of telekinetic energy from Zarina hurled the vampire Xander away from her and Cordelia ran over behind Zarina.

"What the hell?" Cordelia asked. "If you use to be Xander, how in the hell can that thing be here?" She pointed over at the vampire version of Xander. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Wait, that hot black-haired beauty is me?" The vampire Xander asked. "This is fucking weird."

Zarina used her telekinesis to throw Xander into a wall and use a couple of locker doors to restrain him. The locker doors made excellent restraints when they were embedded in the wall.

"Well, I didn't know you were in restraints but if you wanted to play like that." Xander said with a stupid grin. "All you had to do was ask."

Zarina punched the vampire in the nose. She couldn't believe that a vampire version of Xander could be this sick but she reminded herself that this was a vampire. They were prone to anything that was sick and twisted.

"What's Willow going to do with Giles?" Zarina asked.

"Willow, I don't think anyone's called Chaotica that in years." Xander replied with a look that said that he remembered when she was called that.

Zarina was glad she could summon her top hat. She reached into the hat and pulled out a necklace with the pendant being that of a symbol for Artemis. Dangling the necklace in front of Xander's face, she watched as the vampire cringed trying in vain to get as much distance from the symbol as he could.

"What is she going to do with Giles?" Zarina asked Xander again.

"Lady Chaotica is going to have him bear witness when she performs the spell for Eternal Night." Xander said not taking his eyes off the pendant. "That white hat always tried to be a little goody."

In a small fit of rage, Zarina dusted the vampire Xander with a burst of magical fire. Jesse and Cordelia just stared at Zarina who seemed to be contemplating the hand that directed the fire.

"I wonder if that counts as a form of suicide?" Zarina asked herself.

"Hey, back on topic." Cordelia snapped. "What the hell is going on?"

"Do you remember saying a wish?" Zarina asked. "Any sort of wish."

Cordelia shrugged. "Yah, I kinda wished that Buffy never came to Sunnydale." She replied.

"Were you given anything before that?" Zarina asked.

Cordelia's hands went to the back of her neck and undid the clasp of a necklace she was wearing. She handed the necklace to Zarina who began to appraise it. Zarina headed back to the library with Cordelia and Jesse right behind her. Cordelia turned to look at Jesse.

"Didn't you die?" Cordelia asked him.

"I'm getting that a lot today." Jesse replied.

".kees I tahw em gnirB" Zarina said holding up the necklace.

The necklace glowed and a book flew over to her. The book opened itself up and flipped through its pages till it stopped on a specific page. Zarina plucked the book out of the air and read the page.

"Anyanka, patron avenger of scorned women." Zarina read. "She uses a medallion to grant dark wishes. It says here that if we destroy her medallion; it'll nullify the last wish."

"You mean your reality will be restored?" Jesse asked.

"Yah, I'm sorry." Zarina replied.

"Don't be sorry." Jesse said. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Quit quoting Star Wars." Cordelia told Jesse.

"Star Trek." Zarina and Jesse said at the same time.

"Whatever." Cordelia replied.

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Anyanka spat out blood wondering how in the hell was this possible. Nothing in Sunnydale should have been this powerful but here she was chained to the ceiling with a redheaded female vampire licking her lips after feeding on her.

"I didn't take much." She laughed. "I wouldn't want that wish to be reversed now, would I?"

Chaotica, as Anyanka found out she liked to be called, held her amulet in her hand as her minions brought in Giles. She looked over the minions.

"Where's my Xander?" She asked with a look of concern written all over her face.

"Our apologies, Lady Chaotica." One of the minions said. "He was killed by a powerful magician."

Without warning, Chaotica's eyes went black and she hurled a bolt of ebony energy encompassed the minion. The minion screamed as he disappeared into the energy.

"Where did he go?" Anyanka asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I don't know." Chaotica replied strangely. "Never thought to see. Bring me this magician. I want to kill this magician myself."

Despite her powers, she didn't notice that she was being spied on. The pair of vampires gazed at her before moving away.

"Spike, something's strange." Drusilla said. "The stars tell me a female Kitten killed my Kitten. That she came from a better world than this."

"We'd best get to the library, Princess." Spike replied. "Maybe we'll get some bloody answers."

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Zarina, Cordelia, and Jesse were still researching what they needed to do to try to stop the ritual when Drusilla and Spike entered. They were almost attacked by Zarina but Jesse got in between them.

"Chill, Zarina." Jesse said. "Spike and Dru are on our side."

"This doesn't make any sense." Dru said shaking her head in confusion without letting her gaze fall away from Zarina. "I know you but I can't know you. The stars tell me that I'm your biggest fan but I don't remember you performing anything. Why is that?"

Spike looked a bit nervous. "What did you do to my Dru?" He asked.

"Cordelia made a wish that Buffy the Vampire Slayer never came to Sunnydale." Zarina explained. "When the wish altered reality, the residual chaos magic that resulted in my 'birth' protected me from the changes in the time line."

"Like when the Enterprise was in the Borg's temporal wake in..." Spike said before he noticed the looks he was getting from the group. "What, I can't see one bloody movie? Sod off!"

"Regardless, we need to stop the Red Lady so that female Kitten can go back to her mummy." Drusilla said.

"How?" Cordelia asked. "We aren't exactly the Justice League."

"Cordy, that's it." Zarina said. "Think you guys can hold out until I get help?"

"Sure, you gonna try and get your mum?" Spike asked.

"Mom and a few of her friends, if I'm lucky." Zarina answered. "If for some reason I don't make it back, you guys have to try to destroy Anyanka's amulet."

"Will do." Jesse said. "Good luck."

"You'd better come back." Cordelia ordered.

".rewothctaW eht ot em ekaT" Zarina said teleporting away.

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Alarms wailed as soon as she teleported into the space base of the Justice League of America. Zarina held up her hands in a sign of surrender as Kyle and Wally were the first to arrive to detain her. She smiled at the two of them.

"Kyle, Wally, you're not going to believe this." She said to them.

The perplexed look on their faces made her begin to laugh. She always had liked getting that look.

"You might want to get J'onn to look inside so that you know the wiring isn't crossed." She added. "He has my permission. It's not like it won't be the first time he's been inside my noggin."

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Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lanterns (Kyle, Guy, and John), the Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Doctor Fate were gathered around the conference room. J'onn, also known as the Martian Manhunter, was about inform them of what had happened.

"This may come to a shock to all of you but the teenage girl who teleported herself into the Watchtower is Zatanna's daughter." J'onn said to the shock of everyone in the room.

"She's lying." Batman immediately snapped. "Zatanna has never been with child."

"In her home time line, she became Zatanna's daughter after Alexander Lavelle Harris purchased a magician's costume from a chaos mage. The top hat of said costume was stolen from one of her shows." J'onn continued. "When the spell ended, it left Alexander in female form with a cloned version of Zatanna's soul and memories. Over a week, the two sets of souls and memories integrated and Zarina was born."

Everyone looked over to Doctor Fate who nodded in confirmation. Superman, however, seemed to have a question.

"You said home time line." He said. "What do you mean by that?"

"Apparently, one of her friends made a wish to a vengeance demon and said demon managed to rewrite reality. She believes that the residual chaos magic that created her also protected her from the changes." J'onn said. "If the amulet that the demon wears is destroyed, it will restore her time line. It would be for the best."

"Why do you say that?" John Stewart asked.

"I could give you a long and boring explanation but I think I can sum up the reason in only a few names." J'onn said. "Timothy Drake, Cassandra Sandsmark, Donna Troy, Rose Wilson, Jonathon Queen, and Lois Lane."

A solemn look appeared on the faces of the Justice League members but then Green Arrow and Black Canary seemed to perk up.

"Who in the hell is Jonathon Queen?!" Both the husband and wife asked together.

"Another victim of the same spell that created Zarina. He was wearing a damaged Green Arrow costume and a crucifix that he bought at a pawn shop. Apparently, it was the same one that was stolen from Dinah's dorm room in college." J'onn explained.

Dinah blanched when J'onn said this to her. "I never told anyone about that." She said.

"Jonathon's DNA was altered to the point that it would look as though Oliver and you were his parents. He has Dinah's Canary Scream and Oliver's skill with a bow and took up the moniker of Blue Bowman." J'onn informed the group.

"How could she be responsible for saving so many lives?" Diana asked.

"They say that the beat of a butterfly's wings in one part of the world can generate a tornado on the other side of the world." Batman answered. "It may have been just her presence in the original time line that caused those lives to be saved and not her actions."

"Could it really be that simple?" Superman asked. "Smash one item and it'll be like it never happened."

"It can." Doctor Fate replied. "But the question is, do we have the right?"

"We have to stop that crazy vamp chick anyway." Wally said. "If she manages to cast that 'Eternal Night' spell then..."

To Be Continued......

Author's End Notes: I wanted to, originally, put this as one part but my muse decided to flip me the bird so I'm going to split this into two parts with the hope that I can get to work on part two. Please leave me a review. They help keep the plot bunnies kicking.


	7. The Wish, Part Two

***I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FAN FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND I BELIEVE DC COMICS OWNS ITSELF.**********************

Chapter Seven

The Wish, Part Two

Madam Xandu and Zatanna walked into the conference room to see the members of the Justice League staring back at her. Zatanna found an empty chair, sat down in it, and propped her feet up on the conference table.

"Anyone want to explain why in the hell half the League is looking at me like I grew three extra heads?" Zatanna asked.

"Does it have anything to do with the teenager who shouldn't exist yet does?" Madam Xandu asked.

"She teleported herself into the Watchtower and immediately surrendered herself." Batman explained. "She asked for J'onn to scan her mind and..."

"And what, Bruce?" Zatanna asked as she knew Bruce never was one to not say what he meant to say.

"She's apparently your daughter." Batman replied and noticed the obvious look of shock on his childhood friend's face.

"That's new." Zatanna said. "Is she from the future?" Secretly, she was hoping that was the answer.

"No, she is apparently from the original time line." J'onn replied. "A friend of her's had made a wish with a vengeance demon and created our current time line."

Zatanna took her feet down from the table and looked down into her lap. She began to shake her head.

"Why in the hell wasn't I called about this?" She asked.

"We knew how you would react." Batman replied. "That you would want to reach out to this girl and get to know her but now's not the time."

"I don't know when you've forgotten this little fact, Bruce, but anytime is a good time to reach out to family." Zatanna replied before getting up and exiting the room.

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"Ut obscurum EGO beckon. Bring continuo Eternus Night. Shroud orbis terrarum in eternus dusk. Drain lux lucis in husk. I dico ut Darkness. Now, pario Eternus Nox noctis!" Chaotica chanted from the book as Giles watched from the cage he was in.

A black magical aura surrounded Chaotica as she chanted and the Watcher could only watch as the vampire's eyes became black as the magic flowed through her and was surprised when she screamed in rage as the aura faded.

"I need to tap into more power." Chaotica said placing the book down on a table. She walked over to Giles. "It looks like I need to go back to school."

She slipped into her game face and sunk her fangs down into his neck. The watcher gasped in pain as he felt his blood begin to be drained from him. He was surprised when she removed herself from his throat and she said a spell to heal his wound.

"Don't worry now." She said. "I wouldn't want you to miss the end of the world."

She walked away from him and Giles could hear a woman crying. Not that it wouldn't make sense given the situation, but the basic humanity within him decided to reach out to her.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked.

"No, are you always this dense?" The woman replied. "I'm just doing my job and grant Cordelia's wish and the wish backfired on me. That crazy vamp bitch manages to capture me and she took my medallion. Without it, I'm powerless."

(-)(-)(-)(-)

Zatanna walked into the Watchtower's brig and turned towards the cell that was suppose to be holding the girl that was apparently her daughter from another time line. The cell, the supposedly inescapable cell that everyone said was inescapable, was empty. She heard a cough and turned towards the far wall to see a teenage girl with a nail file working on her right hand fingernails.

"How did you get out of there?" Zatanna asked intrigued.

"Come on, Mom." The girl replied. "A magician never reveals her secrets."

"No, seriously, how did you get out of there?" Zatanna asked her daughter.

"Nothing special." Zarina replied. "I knew that the force fields utilize an oscillation field that can be neutralized at the right frequency."

"How did you do it?" Zatanna asked.

Zarina reached into her top hat. "Just because it's you, Mom." She said before pulling out a tuning fork.

"Anything special about that?" Zatanna asked intrigued.

"Nope." Zarina said handing her mother the tuning fork. "Really made Bruce mad when he found out in my time line."

Zatanna smiled. "I bet." She said before her expression changed. Her face seemed to convey the feeling of heartfelt concern. "J'onn told me what he found out but I want to know something. Are you happy?"

"You are the most wonderful mother that any girl would be proud to call herself your daughter. I've never known such love from anyone." Zarina said. "Of course, I'm happy. I'm not happy right now but that's kind of obvious."

Doctor Fate chose that moment to enter the room. Zarina noticed him first and smiled.

"Nice to see you again, Doctor Nelson." Zarina said.

"It's good to see you too, Zarina, but the dark energies being emitted from the Sunnydale Hellmouth are intensifying." He informed her.

"Crap." Zarina said putting her top hat on her head. "We've got to move now."

Zarina went out the door of the brig and made her way to the main conference room that the members of the Justice League were in. She walked right up to the table and set her top hat upside down on the table.

"Look, I have to inform all of you of what you'll be facing in Sunnydale and I don't have a lot of time to do it." Zarina said. "Chaotica is not only a extremely powerful witch but she's also a vampire. This means that she is at least four times stronger and faster than a normal human and who the hell knows if her powers might have augmented this. Her minions will most likely be vampires as well. The best ways to dust a vampire are decapitation, sunlight, fire, holy water, and a wooden stake through the heart."

"What about garlic?" The Flash asked.

Zarina rolled her eyes. "Don't even get me started on that hack." She replied. "John, Guy, Kyle, fly out and absorb sunlight into your rings. Diana, please get into your armor. Your sword will be a literal godsend against the vamps down there. Superman, I would use heat vision." She pulled out a few bandoleers filled with wooden stakes and threw them down on the table. "Here's some stakes for everyone to use. I've also got compressed holy water canisters and UV grenades."

She sat the canisters and the grenades down on the table. Batman picked up one of the grenades and began to closely examine it.

"I helped you create these, didn't I?" He asked.

"In my time line, a millennia-old master vampire named Bries that everyone had thought was dusted already tried to take over Gotham's underworld. You asked for my help and we destroyed him." Zarina explained to him.

"Did he like to cut a pentagram into his victims after he drained them?" Batman asked.

"Yes." Zarina said. "Have you been able to stop him?"

"Yes, but at a great expense." He replied and Zarina noticed he slipped into his Bruce Wayne voice.

A tear rolled down Zarina's cheek as she realized that it had to be somebody significant to Bruce to cause him to slip. She began to shake her head.

"Please don't tell me it was Alfred?" Zarina asked.

"Bries went after everyone that had a connection with me. It took everything I had to stop him." Batman replied.

"Enough of this." Zarina said. "Time for me to go home."

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She began the spell to try to open the Hellmouth when she felt magic being manipulated. Chaotica sighed and looked over at the Watcher who she had chained to a wall in the library. Giles could only wonder why she seemed to be pouting.

"I really wanted you to be alive to see it but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen now, is it?" Chaotica said as she shifted to her game face. "I guess I need something to eat before that bitch brings the League here."

Chaotica sank her teeth into Giles' neck and drained him of his blood. Materializing a handkerchief, she wiped the blood away from her mouth. The Watcher was a rather filling meal but a thought crossed her mind that it seemed wrong to do what she just did. Thankfully, night had already fallen as her minions went to meet the League. She looked out a window to see her minions, and she had quite a few of them, were being easily dispatched by the superheroes who had assembled. With a flicker of her magic, she called in the various demons that she had contracted in to help to defend the situation she was in but she realized that they wouldn't be enough but hey would at least serve as cannon fodder.

"I need to hurry." Chaotica said throwing the handkerchief to the side and going back to work at opening the Hellmouth.

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Spike didn't like helping the White Hats but what his Dru wanted was what he wanted. He decapitated one of the attacking demons and broke the sword he was using after plunging the blade into the chest of another demon. That one White Hat, Oz, had taken an attack meant for that chick, Cordelia. His neck had been broken by the attack and he lay dead. Drusilla was busy defending Cordelia along with Jesse who Dru kept insisting was precious.

_If she doesn't quit with the Gollum impersonation, I'm going to bloody scream!_ Spike thought to himself.

A vampire charged at him and before he could ready himself, the vampire was incinerated with a fireball. He saw Drusilla smile as Zarina came over to them. Spike could tell that Zarina was tired just with a glance.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Peachy freaking wonderful." Zarina said. "Ever have to convince a room full of the most powerful people on the planet, let alone the entire universe, that you weren't the enemy and needed their help?"

"No, that's why I tend to hire minions if need be." Spike replied.

"So, the Justice League is actually here." Cordelia said. "They'll take care of Vamp Willow and everything will go back to normal."

Drusilla began to shake her head. "But only if Zarina fights Chaotica herself." She stated.

Zarina nodded. "I've already came to the same idea, Dru." Zarina replied.

"You think your own chaos may neutralize some of Chaotica's own powers." Drusilla said stating the very idea that Zarina had herself.

"That's nuts." Cordelia exclaimed. "You don't even know if it's going to work."

"I have to try, Cordy." Zarina replied. "Whether or not I do anything, this reality is still being torn apart by my very presence. We come from a better time line than what this universe has had and the Justice League know this."

"Reverse Entropic Cascade Failure." Jesse said. "Instead of the universe attempting to push you out, your presence is causing the universe to be pushed out."

"Exactly. I'm sorry, Jesse." Zarina said with a tear rolling down her right cheek. "I wanted to find a way to bring you to my universe but..."

"Don't worry about it. Just remember this." Jesse said before raising right hand in the most recognized gesture in science fiction history. "I have been and shall always be, your friend."

"Goodbye, Jesse." Zarina said before leaving. She felt the Hellmouth had already been opened and knew she was running out of time.

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Chaotica walked out of the high school through a hole she carved through the wall to watch the battle as it unfolded. Using her powers, she tore a hole in space and time to summon forth a monster that the Justice League would fear. Doomsday emerged from the hole with a ferocious roar and was immediately put under Chaotica's thrall. A smile crossed her face as she accomplished this. A spell uttered in an ancient language allowed her to create magical golems with the same properties as the monstrosity. Before Doomsday could take another step however, she used her powers to hurl Doomsday into the opened Hellmouth. While she admired the creature's unique attributes, she didn't want it loose anywhere near her. She was evil, not stupid.

"So, you are the undead fiend that—!" Etrigan said before Chaotica interrupted the demon prince.

Using barely magic at all, Chaotica impaled the demon prince with the iron streetlights that normally lit the streets of Sunnydale. She use to find it odd that the late Mayor Wilkins had chosen iron as the main component of the streetlights but now she knew why as life left the body of her would-be attacker. Chaotica fired off blasts of raw dark magical energy and reveled in the destruction she was causing. Hero after hero was felled by her blasts. Batman was decapitated, Superman had his heart ripped from his chest, the Martian Manhunter was consumed by conjured hellfire, Green Arrow was shot with his own arrows, Black Canary's throat was ripped out, and Wonder Woman was torn apart limb by limb. She was certain that she had killed one if not all of the Green Lanterns that had entered the fray.

"Boy, this is a long way from that little girl I knew in kindergarten who was crying over a broken yellow crayon." Zarina said to Chaotica.

Chaotica turned to regard this new foe. She reminded her of Zatanna Zatara with the way she looked and dressed but there was something else that seemed familiar about her. The way this girl seemed to be regarding her was as if she was also familiar to her.

"And you are?" She asked.

"That is definitely an interesting question these days." Zarina replied. "Add one part, Zatanna Zatara, to one part, Xander Harris, and mix together with a Chaos spell and you get me. I am Zarina Zatara, Mini-Mistress of Magic and I suppose I could use the title of Princess of Prestidigitation as well."

"I can add another title." Chaotica said charging up a blast of dark magical energy. "Deceased."

The blast impacted without any reaction against Zarina who smiled. A confused look could be seen on Chaotica's face as she tried to figure out what had went wrong.

"You should be dead." Chaotica said.

"You can thank Janus for that." Zarina said showing a wooden stake in each hand. "It's time I give Willow's soul peace."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Hal Jordan could only watch from his perspective as the Spectre. He hated how he was being rendered powerless to do anything as his friends were killed. The Spectre side of him didn't see it that way.

"Jordan, all of this will work out in the end." The Spectre said.

"My friends are being slaughtered by that damned vampire and you're not letting me do anything about it." Hal exclaimed.

The Spectre simply held out his hand and Hal saw a Green Lantern power ring in the Spectre's palm. A plan came to his mind but the Spectre shook his head.

"Not you but someone else can." The Spectre informed him.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Zarina dodged a punch and drove a stake into Chaotica's chest only to have the stake splinter as if she'd tried to use the same stake against Superman. Chaotica laughed and threw Zarina away from her.

"What?" Chaotica asked smiling shifting into her game face. "You thought that little stick would have been enough to destroy the likes of me."

Chaotica charged Zarina and kicked her in the abdomen. A haymaker punch sent Zarina back to the ground. The magician rolled out of the way of another kick from the vampire and got back to her feet.

"Kinda hoping it would." Zarina replied. "!eriF"

This was an emotionally trying battle for her. On one hand, she had to deal with her best friend turned into an extremely powerful vampire/witch and on the other hand, she had to face the deaths of the most powerful heroes this world has ever known.

Chaotica brushed off the fireball sent her way. "You actually expect to defeat me?" She asked.

With a burst of speed that Zarina didn't know that vampires possessed, Chaotica was in front of her with her teeth sunk into her neck. The pain was excruciating and a thought crossed her mind that she was going to die. Somehow, she managed to get a hand on the amulet in order to grasp it. Chaotica took her teeth out and grinned at Zarina.

"What do you expect to do now?" Chaotica asked rhetorically.

Without warning, a green construct claw arm impacted against Chaotica hurtling her away from Zarina. The chain holding the amulet to her neck snapped and Zarina had the amulet in her hand. She looked to see Jesse in a Green Lantern uniform holding her construct on Chaotica.

"Zarina, destroy the amulet quickly." Jesse exclaimed. "I don't know how long I can hold it."

".ecam eht em gnirB" Zarina said weakly drawing Hawkgirl's mace over to her.

"Good-bye, Zarina." Jesse said.

"Bye, Jesse." She replied slamming the mace onto the amulet.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Done." Anya said before looking around bewildered.

"Wish it was that easy." Cordelia said walking away.

"Done." Any said again trying to figure out what was wrong.

Cordelia kept walking away from Anya with a strange feeling as though she just dodged a major bullet by walking away from the girl.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Giles and Oz rushed over to Zarina after they heard her fall to the floor. The Watcher could see blood dripping from her neck and he shouted at Oz to get help. Before Oz could go, the teenage werewolf noticed Zarina dip a finger into her own blood and right out a message.

_**!EM LAEH**_

The blood magic worked its magic and they watched as her neck wounds healed as if the wounds had never been there. With help from the two of them, Zarina was able to get back to her feet. Giles led her over to a chair which she sat down in.

"Good Lord, Zarina. What happened?" Giles asked.

"I was in Hell, Giles." Zarina replied. "Cordelia made a wish to a vengeance demon and ended up creating an alternate universe. One where Buffy never came to Sunnydale, where Xander and Willow had been turned into vampires, and where Vampire Willow managed to kill most of the Justice League."

"You must have been able to stop her." Giles said.

"No, who did you think bit me?" Zarina asked. "If it hadn't been for Jesse somehow finding a Green Lantern power ring, she would have drained me or worse..."

Giles knew who Zarina was referring to and was taken back by it. Oz seemed to be reflecting on the knowledge that his girlfriend was a powerful vampire in another universe. Zarina got up from her chair.

"You need to rest." Giles told her. "You've been through a lot."

"No, I need to see my mom." Zarina said. ".rewothctaW eht ot em ekaT"

She teleported herself to the Watchtower and had appeared right in front of Hal Jordan who had nearly ran into her.

"You okay, Zarina?" Hal asked. "You seem like something's bothering you."

"There is but I've got to see my mom first." Zarina replied.

"Right behind you." Hal said pointing behind her.

Zarina turned to see Zatanna standing there. The smile that her mother normally had on her face shifted to a look of concern when she saw the look on her daughter's face.

"Zarina, what's wrong?" She asked.

Zarina didn't reply but instead wrapped her arms around her mother and began to cry. Zatanna wrapped her arms around her daughter and wondered what had happened to make her daughter like she was now. When Zarina seemed to have cried herself to sleep, Hal used his ring to create a floating bed for her mother to set her daughter on.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Maybe we should give this up, Willow." Buffy said with a sigh. "Zarina has a lot more powerful people backing her up and Faith won't stop coming after Angel every night. It's like she has something to prove."

"I'm not giving up on Xander!" Willow exclaimed. "I'm getting him back one way or another."

Willow got up and stormed away from her friend. She couldn't believe that Buffy would be that willing to give up on someone she was suppose to care about. A man in a delivery uniform carrying a package with a clipboard stepped in front of her and she plowed right into him and she was knocked to the ground.

"I'm so sorry." The man said helping Willow up. "My instructions were to deliver this package here to a Miss Rosenberg but I can't seem to find her..."

"I'm Willow Rosenberg." Willow said excited about the package.

"Well, sign here." The man said handing her the clipboard and a pen.

Willow quickly signed and was given her package. The man walked away as she tore the package open. Inside the box, she found a letter and an old leather bound tome.

_To Willow, I'm sorry to hear about the situation you're in. Hopefully, this old book may be of some help to you. Your friend, Felix Faust._

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Miss Kendall, do you know why I've called you into my office?" Snyder asked the bleached blonde-haired girl.

"No." She said and Snyder saw her irises become blood red. "I don't care either."

Snyder grabbed the back of his head in pain as he was now experiencing the most powerful excruciating sensation of it. He watched as Harmony got out of her chair and smiled at him.

"That would be the blood clot that I had travel into your brain." Harmony said. "How does it feel to know that you are probably the most hated man in town? How does it feel to know that rather than mourning your death the way a few people did for Flutie that people will be celebrating your demise? How does it feel to know that you're going to die a pathetic and lonely little man who only sought to share the misery that he was feeling on the very students he was foolishly put in charge of?"

Harmony walked out of Snyder's office as blood began to flow like tears from the Principal's eyes.

AUTHOR'S END NOTES: Sorry about the long delay in getting this chapter out. This was rather hard for me to right but I hope the delay was worth it.


	8. Voices

***I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FAN FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND I BELIEVE DC COMICS OWNS ITSELF.**********************

Author's Notes: Be in mind that I'm color-blind so if descriptions seem off by what others may remember, please take that in mind.

Chapter Eight

Voices

It did seem unusual that anyone in Sunnydale could die of natural causes but that was the case with Principal Snyder. A new principal had been found and Buffy had been summoned to his office. She was a bit nervous as her luck with previous principals hasn't exactly been stellar. Opening the office door after reading the new name that had been placed on the door "**Principal Jason Blood**", she saw him standing with her back to her looking out the window.

_Boy, does his name sound evil or what?_ She asked herself.

"Please sit down, Miss Summers." Blood said to her.

Buffy complied with his request and sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. It was then she took notice of how different this principal was when compared against his predecessors if you based it on their choices of office decor. Flutie and Snyder didn't differ too much as it looked like any ordinary principal's office. Blood's choice of decor was antique to say the least. All of the office furniture had been replaced with what she thought were solid oak equivalents though the chairs were very nicely cushioned. He turned to face her and she finally got a good look at him. Blood had brown hair, a goatee, and was dressed in a grey suit. He sat down in his chair and opened a manilla folder.

"Accused of burning down your former high school's gym and then, you moved here to Sunnydale where I see countless remarks by the late Principal Jacob Snyder that refer to you as the single biggest miscreant that he has had the displeasure of having in his school." Blood said reading from her file.

"It was mice that burnt down the gym." Buffy quickly said trying to defend herself.

Blood frowned at her. "Please Miss Summers, do not take me for a fool." He said to her. "I know that you burnt down your former high school's gym and if such a situation occurs again, I expect you to do whatever is necessary."

Buffy's eyes widened as she had a strange thought that the new principal might know that she was the Slayer but she wasn't about to reveal her secret identity to him. He closed the folder and glanced over at her.

"That is all, Miss Summers. Do not expect my opinion of you to be the same as my predecessors. I give everyone an equal chance to earn either my ire or my praise." Blood told her. "You may go now."

Buffy got out of her chair and left the office. She immediately headed for the library to find Cordelia, Oz, and Zarina there looking through books. Seeing Zarina made her start to feel bad, Buffy walked over to Giles.

"Giles, what do you know about the new principal?" She asked.

"I haven't met the man myself but I've heard a few complaints from some of the faculty that he is treating them like a knight dressing down the castle guard." Giles replied. "Frankly, someone who isn't a strict authoritarian towards the students is a good thing."

"I am a strict authoritarian when I'm required, Mr. Giles." Blood said as he entered the library.

Zarina looked up from the book she was reading and a smile formed on her lips. She dropped the book and ran over to the new principal giving him a hug.

"Jason, I'm so glad to see you." Zarina said releasing him from her embrace. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be in town, let alone become the new principal of Sunnyhell High?"

"One, I wanted it to be a surprise." Blood replied. "And Two, this would be one career I have not had in a while."

"But high school principal?" Zarina asked with her voice obviously dripping with shock. "That has to be the most boring job I think you could have had."

"Your mother told me what you told the League and I doubt any vengeance demons are going to come anywhere near here while I'm around." Blood replied. "D'Hoffryn still remembers the last time he faced me."

Zarina laughed at the remark but Buffy could only stare at the new principal. It was now beginning to make sense now.

"You knew I was the Slayer, didn't you?" She asked accusing him of hiding his knowledge from her.

"Of course, Miss Summers. I've run into quite a few Slayers in the past. Do you even know why the Slayer is always that one girl in all the world?" Blood replied.

"No, I just thought it was part of the whole destiny deal." Buffy said shrugging her shoulders.

Blood brought a hand to his face and lowered his head shaking his head as he lowered it. He glanced over at Zarina.

"When you've talked about her, you didn't tell me she was this oblivious." Blood said to the young magician.

"You told a complete stranger about me?!" Buffy exclaimed at Zarina.

"Buffy, he knew about you already." Zarina replied trying to explain her actions. "He doesn't exactly have a high opinion of Watchers in general and it took a lot of convincing on my part for him to not come here to Sunnydale and tear Giles apart for giving up on you when that prophecy about you being killed by the Master was discovered."

"Miss Summers, the reason that the Slayer is always female is because they are naturally physically weaker than males are as well as more easily controlled. Women were thought as little more than objects back then." Blood informed her. "Did your Watcher even inform you that the Cruciamentum is approaching? The time when you will lose your Slayer powers and be forced to fight a vampire, probably one that had reached the level of master, and more than likely be killed either by either the vampire or the Council so that they retain control."

Buffy glared at Giles. "Is that true?" She asked.

"Buffy, it's not what you think." Giles said almost pleading with the Slayer.

"I think it is." Buffy replied becoming visibly upset with her Watcher. "I've got to get to class."

Buffy ran out of the library as fast as she could and Giles glared at Jason Blood. The new principal didn't seem phased by the death glare he was being given.

"How dare you presume that you should have said that to her?" Giles asked Blood before turning his attention towards Zarina. "And you, young lady, have some nerve to..."

A loud cough could be heard and they turned to see a dark haired man in a dark blue pinstripe suit had entered the library. He carried a brown leather briefcase in his right hand.

"And you are?" Giles asked aggravated that he was being interrupted.

"Wesley Wyndham-Price, I'm here to act as..." Wesley said before he was interrupted.

"As Faith's Watcher, we know." Zarina snapped at him.

Wesley blinked at her. "How could you possibly know that?" He asked her in disbelief.

"Please, the way you look screams Watcher." Zarina replied. "I got to get to class."

Zarina grabbed her things off the table and walked out of the library at a brisk pace. Blood turned to look at Wesley.

"Mr. Price, as Miss Lehane is not a student here, I see no reason as to why you are on school property." Blood informed him. "Either you leave now, or I will alert the local constabulary and have you arrested as a trespasser. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Wesley replied leaving the library.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

It was lunchtime when Zarina ran into Faith or rather Faith ran into her. Zarina had been sitting under a tree with a pile of books scattered around her. She was so intent on reading them that she didn't notice Faith's arrival.

"What ya readin'?" She asked.

"Remember when we went by the grave of Jenny Calender last night and I told you I had a funny feeling?" Zarina asked Faith.

"Yah, I just figured something was spooking you." Faith replied.

"It's because I could sense my magic in the grave." Zarina said. "I did a more intensive magical probe and found out that she isn't in the grave."

"What?" Faith asked. "Did she get vamped?"

"No, the grave would have been empty." Zarina replied showing Faith the opened book she was currently reading.

Faith grabbed the book and looked at the page. She saw a plain white figure without features on the page.

"Doppel Doll, what's that?" She asked.

"Think of it like a magical duplicate of yourself. It moves like you and looks like you but it isn't you. They've been used as a substitute when people feared that they were going to be assassinated from a distance." Zarina explained. "Since my probe found this inside her grave, it leads me to believe that I'm involved in a predestination paradox."

"Stayed up late watching Star Trek again, Zarina." Faith replied. "I don't think your mom would like that."

A scream erupted before Zarina could reply to Faith's remark and the two headed for the source of the scream running through a crowd of people as people were retreating away from it. Zarina could see Larry shooting electricity into the football coach.

"MY NAME ISN'T LARRY!" Larry screamed at the coach. "IT'S KILLSWITCH! I'M KILLSWITCH!"

"Hey, Larry!" Faith exclaimed. "Where's Curly and Moe?"

Zarina and Faith found cover as Larry began to send blasts of electricity at them. The young magician glared at her friend.

"Do we have to antagonize the bad guys?" Zarina asked.

"Hey, it saved an innocent." Faith replied. "So, got an idea how to take down Sparky?"

"IT'S KILLSWITCH!" Larry yelled increasing the intensity of his blasts.

"Yah, one." Zarina said eyeing a sprinkler. "!eriF"

The fireball struck the sprinkler setting it off showering them with water. Larry sparked up with electricity and suddenly collapsed to the ground. He tried to get back to his feet rather weakly but Faith gave him a swift kick in the head knocking him out. Faith looked over at Zarina whose white top was kind of revealing.

"Ah Zarina, nice plan at all but have you heard of a wet t-shirt contest?" Faith asked pointing at her friend's shirt.

The sprinklers were shut off as Zarina's face flushed with embarrassment when she realized how it looked.

".sehtolc ruo yrD" Zarina said before a hot gust of wind occurred which dried the water off of them.

"So, how do we dispose of Sparky?" Faith asked.

"Sunnydale PD will probably call in a Metahuman Crime unit. They'll keep Larry locked up." Zarina replied pulling out her Titans communicator. "I'm going to call the Tower to let them know there is a Bang Baby with Static's powers."

The communicator connected with the Tower and Beast Boy's face appeared.

"Titan Tower, Beast Boy speaking." He said before realizing who it was. "Hey, Zarina. What's up?"

"Hi, Beast Boy." Zarina said smiling. She had always like talking with the goofy green-skinned shape shifter. "Listen, there's a Bang Baby who has..."

"Has what, Zarina?" Beast Boy asked.

The communicator dropped from her hand as she fell to the floor like a marionette who has had its strings cut. Faith managed to grab her before she could hit her head on the floor.

"Zarina, what's happening?" Beast Boy exclaimed as he was concerned for his friend.

Faith grabbed the communicator. "Listen Beast Boy, Zarina just collapsed." Faith said into the communicator. "I don't know why but I'm thinking since she wasn't hit by the Bang Baby's attack it might by something mystical."

"Right, I'll let the Titans know." Beast Boy replied. "We're gonna be on our way as soon as we can."

"Right BB, I'm callin' her mom." Faith said before closing the communicator.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Giles was trying to dry himself off outside when he saw Faith carrying Zarina bridal style out of the school. He was a little curious as to why they were dry when everyone else who had exited the school so far had been soaking wet but he was more concerned as to why Zarina seemed to be unconscious. Faith kept walking past him as he approached.

"Faith, what's wrong with her?" Giles asked her. "What happened?"

"I don't know Giles but I'm taking her home." Faith replied.

"She needs to go see a doctor." Giles told her.

"She probably will, Giles." She said getting irritated with the Watcher. "Zatanna said she asked Doctor Fate to come by. The Titans will be here soon as well."

"Perhaps I can help you out, Miss Lehane." Blood said walking over to her.

"She told me about you." Faith said recognizing him from a picture she'd seen in Zarina's house. "So, where's your white horse and armor?"

"Haven't had a horse in a while and you would not believe the trouble it is to keep plate armor in good condition, let alone keeping it shiny." Blood replied with a smile.

"Well, shall we?" Faith asked.

Faith stood next to Blood and before Giles could react; both the Slayer and the principal were gone in a cloud of red smoke. Giles didn't like the new principal after the altercation he had in the library and this event wasn't exactly earning the man any trust with the British librarian. He headed for his car as school had been called off on account of the altercation that had apparently occurred.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

In a playground, a little girl dressed as a magician appeared on a swing. She had black hair and looked as though she was about five years old. Looking bewildered at her surroundings, she got off of the swing.

"How did I get here?" She asked herself.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The vampire nest was engulfed in flames as the vampires tried to flee through the tunnels to escape the inferno. Their escape was futile as they realized the way was blocked by a redheaded girl wearing a magician's costume. Sunday couldn't believe any hunters would even dress like that let alone be this forward with their attacks.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Sunday asked shouting at the attacker.

"Who I am won't even matter once I'm done with you, dust bunny." The attacker said shoving stakes into her last two minions who were quickly dusted. "I should warn you though. You won't get off as easily as your minions did."

Sunday rushed her attacker trying to get in a good attack in the hopes that she might be able to get away. Her adversary seemed to have another plan in mind. Her arm was grabbed and faster than the vampire could blink, she felt the bones in her arm be broken in what seemed like several places. The pain didn't end there as she was flipped onto her back and her arm was dislocated from her shoulder. The smile she seen on her face made Sunday wonder if the girl had gone off the deep end.

"What the hell do you want, bitch?" Sunday asked with fear. "Who do you think you are, a Slayer?"

"Oh, no need for name calling." was the reply. "Now, Mosquito, you shouldn't attack anyone who was trained by an Amazon. Besides, do I look like that blonde who likes to get off on a little necrophilia? Although, I can see why you might have thought I was Faith but no I'm not. She snores in her sleep."

Sunday screamed as a wooden stake was shoved through her right kneecap. A laugh from her attacker came and another wooden stake was shoved through her left kneecap. Sunday screamed again as her attacker shoved stakes into both of her wrists, her elbows, and her ankles. A series of kicks and punches soon followed leaving her racked with pain.

"Just kill me already." Sunday pleaded not being able to handle the pain.

Her attacker shook her head. "No, that's too good for the likes of you." She replied. "I think I'm just going to leave you somewhere out in the open so that you can see the sunrise. One last time. Wait, still daylight out. I'll think of something."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Saying a few people stared at her was an understatement as she walked into the Bronze. She was dressed as a magician but as one who was striving for sex appeal rather than hex appeal as the blonde-haired girl's costume was something Power Girl would have been proud of. Sitting down at the bar, she looked over at the bartender.

"So, can I get a Coke?" She asked smiling.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

She sat on a bench crying. Clad in a magician's costume, the blue haired girl wondered why she was still in this town. Buffy hated her. Her best friend for as long as she could remember was wanting to kill her just because she existed.

"What am I going to do?" She asked herself.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"You were at the Bronze when the mini-riot took place." Cordelia heard Zarina say to her.

"Yah, what of it?" Cordelia asked the black haired girl. "Why are you dressed in your costume anyway?"

Zarina shook her head. "I do not know." She replied. "What is important is what power you may have developed from the gas?"

Cordelia's eyes widened. "What was that gas?" Cordelia asked trying to figure out why the girl who she had been slowly thinking of as her friend seemed rather cool and logical.

"Do you know of the member of the Teen Titans know as Static?" Zarina asked getting a shake of her head from the cheerleader. "Well, he received his powers in a similar manner in his home town. The gas transforms a person who is exposed to it into a metahuman of a type that normally referred to as a 'Bang-Baby'. Since you have not used these powers while on patrol, I can only gather they are of a different nature."

Cordelia pulled Zarina over to a tree. "I've been getting visions in my head of things that haven't happened yet. Sometimes I get them when I'm asleep and sometimes while I'm awake." Cordelia said to her. "That's why I wasn't shocked when Buffy outed you as formerly being Xander. Hey, didn't I see Faith carry you out of the school?"

"You did, Cordelia." Zarina replied.

"So, you're better now?" Cordelia asked a little confused.

Zarina shook her head. "Actually, I'm unconscious at my house right now. Since I seem devoid of emotion at the moment, I believe I am merely a personification of my knowledge." She replied. "You may refer to me as Knowledge."

"Okay, what do you think we should do?" Cordelia asked.

"We should go to my home." Knowledge replied. "Perhaps proximity to my actual body will trigger your precognitive abilities and unveil more of what has occurred."

"Huh?" Cordelia asked not understanding most of what she had said to her.

Knowledge grabbed Cordelia's arm. ".emoh ym ot su ekaT" She said before they vanished.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Cordelia didn't take to teleportation too well as she vomited up the contents of her stomach when she appeared in Zarina's living room with Knowledge. Once she looked up, she grimaced.

_Definitely not the best way to make a first impression._ She thought to herself. _Especially in front of the Teen Titans._

The Titans that she saw were Cyborg, Beast Boy, someone she assumed was Static based on the way he was dressed, and Blue Beetle.

"Hey, don't sweat it." Static said trying to cheer her up. "It's happened to me the first few times I've teleported. I'm Static."

"Cordelia Chase." She replied.

"Zarina, mind explaining to me how you could be here and in your bedroom at the same time?" Beast Boy asked.

"Because I am merely the personification of Zarina's knowledge or perhaps embodiment is a better term." Knowledge replied cooly. "Never the less, I believe I shall go see how I am doing. Come along, Cordelia, we need to get to the bottom of this."

"I'm not a dog." Cordelia exclaimed.

Regardless, she followed Knowledge up the stairs to Zarina's room. Cordelia thought she heard a comment made from one of the guys downstairs.

"This is why I don't get magic." Blue Beetle said.

Zarina's room was rather crowded as Zatanna, Doctor Fate, Raven, Starfire, Miss Martian, Ravager, Faith, and Wonder Girl were around Zarina's bed. Cordelia looked over towards the exterior wall and saw the new principal of Sunnydale High was standing there.

"What's he doing here and how can this room be this big?" She asked.

"Jason is quite skilled in the mystical arts. The reason why the room is larger than it seems is because Zarina has quite the talent of creating expanded space within normal dimensions. Kind of reminds me of the TARDIS from Doctor Who." Doctor Fate said answering her question. "Anyway, a better question would be for us to ask is why are you here?"

Knowledge walked over to Doctor Fate. "She is here so that she may deduce more information as to my condition." She informed the doctor.

"How will she know anymore than we do already?" Wonder Girl asked.

"She was exposed to the same gas that gave Static his abilities." Knowledge explained. "The gas gave her precognitive abilities. Cordelia may be able to give us more details."

"Please, if you think you can help." Zatanna said to Cordelia.

Cordelia walked over to Zarina's bedside and took Zarina's right hand into her own hands. She began to steady her breathing to try to calm herself down.

_Com'n Cordelia, you can do this._ Cordelia told herself. _They're counting on you. All I have to do is be calm._

Though she didn't notice it, her eyes seemed to glow a ghostly white as images began to flood into her mind. She gasped and released Zarina's hand from her grip. Doctor Fate steadied her before she could fall.

"What did you see?" He asked.

"I saw four others like Knowledge here. There's a blonde-haired one at the Bronze and she seems so slutty. A blue-haired one alone on a bench who seems really sad. There's a pissed off redhead fighting vampires somewhere." Cordelia answered. "There's also a cute little five year old girl wearing a magician's costume at a playground."

Faith looked over at Wonder Girl. "Not good, sundown isn't far off and the vamps will be out. If there's a little Zarina out there, talk about a midnight snack." Faith said to the leader of the Titans.

Cordelia wasn't following the rest of the conversation as she was more concerned about her friend who was lying helpless on her bed. She grasped Zarina's hand again and something more shocking filled her mind.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_Willow sat in the middle of a red pentagram that had a red candle at each of the pentagram's points. She held a book in her hands as she chanted in a strange language that Cordelia didn't recognize. A bright purple flash occurred when Willow finished chanting and Cordelia saw the look on the redheaded nerd's face. Willow was smiling._

"_I'm going to have Xander back." Willow said to herself as she closed the book._

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Who's Felix Faust?" Cordelia asked letting go of Zarina's hand.

"He's a dangerous sorcerer who is always seeking more power for himself." Doctor Fate replied. "I've had more than one encounter with him. Why do you ask?"

"When I touched Zarina's hand again, I saw Willow casting a spell. The book she was reading from had his name in gold colored lettering on it." Cordelia explained. "I can't believe Willow would do something this stupid just to get Xander back."

Raven looked over to Cordelia. "It gets worse." She said. "If we don't gather the other personifications of Zarina and perform the counter-spell in time, Zarina will die."

"If that happens, I'm killin' Red myself." Faith replied to Raven.

The Teen Titans headed downstairs along with Cordelia and Faith. Faith headed out the front door as Wonder Girl turned towards Cordelia.

"Cordelia, can you go find Mister Giles?" She asked. "Raven, think you can track down Willow and get the book she used?"

"Not a problem." Cordelia replied.

"Each person's magic leaves a distinctive trail that can be followed." Raven replied. "It shouldn't be a problem."

"Good." Wonder Girl said turning towards the other Titans. "The rest of us should search the town for the other personifications. Be careful. There is no telling what denizens of Tartarus are out there."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

There was a reason Raven didn't like to be on a Hellmouth. The energy that a Hellmouth radiated was like a drug that could slowly corrupt you if you let it. This was the reason why she declined being placed here and why she didn't get along with Zarina as well as the others did. It wasn't that the magician wasn't a nice person. Raven preferred dealing with her rather than Zatanna's cousin, Zachary, who was also a Titan. It was the fact that Zarina was basically born here twice, first as Alexander Harris and then as herself. The tinge of a Hellmouth was rather noticeable and most magic users could ignore it but because of Raven's heritage, it was rather difficult to do just that. They may not get along well on a personal level but they did respect each other well enough to cooperate with one another which was why she came to help.

The magical trace led Raven to the address of 1630 Revello Drive. She walked onto the front porch and knocked on the door. The door opened and a woman stood there. She looked as though she might have been in her late thirties, maybe early forties, but she did recognize Raven.

"You're Raven, aren't you?" She asked.

"I am." Raven acknowledged.

"Joyce Summers, what seems to be the problem?" Joyce asked gesturing for Raven to enter.

It was obvious from the gesture that Joyce knew about the supernatural so Raven entered and looked into the living room and was almost being blinded by the bright green aura emanating from the twelve year old watching television. Raven turned away from the living room to see a concerned look on Joyce's face.

"Sorry, your daughter has a rather bright aura." Raven explained. "I wasn't expecting it."

_I'll definitely have to research that when I get back home._ Raven thought.

"That's okay but I doubt you came over because of that." Joyce replied.

"No, I didn't. A dangerous spell was cast upon Zarina which has split her into five different personifications of herself. The other Titans are searching the town looking for them." Raven continued to explain. "I came here tracking the magical signature of the person that cast the spell."

"BUFFY! WILLOW! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" Joyce yelled for her daughter and her best friend.

Dawn heard the commotion and looked over seeing Raven standing there. She got off the couch and walked over.

"Hi, I'm Dawn." She said introducing herself. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting a superhero."

"I'm Raven." Raven said to Dawn. "You have a very bright green aura."

Dawn smiled. "Cool." She replied.

"Honey, aren't you suppose to be spending the night with Kit?" Joyce asked her youngest daughter. "Are you ready?"

"No." Dawn replied before proceeding upstairs to her room as Buffy and Willow walked down the stairs.

Buffy and Willow seemed a bit intrigued when they saw Raven but didn't say anything until they walked over to them.

"Mom, what's going on?" Buffy asked.

"It would seem that someone performed a very stupid spell on Zarina and they're in this house." Joyce informed the two teenage girls.

"It wasn't a stupid spell." Willow blurted out.

Buffy twirled Willow around. "What did you do?" Buffy asked her friend.

"I was trying to get Xander back." Willow replied trying to explain her actions to two people she cared about.

"Xander is gone, Willow." Joyce scolded the girl. "There isn't any magic that you can do that can bring him back."

"There has to be." Willow protested. "I love him too much just to let him go like that."

"Be that as it may, your reckless actions have resulted in Zarina's life hanging in the balance." Raven said to Willow. "If the personifications of Zarina are not gathered and the right counter-spell performed, Zatanna will be burying her only daughter."

"Oh my god." Joyce said to herself realizing the gravity of the situation. "Willow, how could you do something that dangerous?"

"But Felix's book didn't say anything like that would happen." Willow said backing away from the others.

"Felix Faust is a very dangerous and evil sorcerer." Raven told the redheaded girl. She couldn't even bring herself to think that there were people that could be this reckless with magic. "He's always after what he wants and I have no idea why he'd help you. If we are to save Zarina, I need that book."

"But, I performed the soul curse to give Angel back his soul." Willow said pleading with the Titan.

"Just because you performed one major act of black magic doesn't mean you should be so undisciplined with magic like you are. It is commendable that you were even able to cast the spell in the first place but your recklessness will only result in your own destruction." Raven scolded her. "Now before your own pride destroys you or anyone else that you claim to care about, I need that book."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Felix Faust strolled over to the trophy case staring at a particular trophy that was the prison for someone he had once shown affection to but had spurned him and secreted a daughter that he hadn't known existed to a Hellmouth. He smiled at the irony that she had talked and talked about her cheerleading past and now she was imprisoned in her own trophy.

"Hello, Catherine. It's nice to see you again." He said to the trophy. "You thought you could keep young Amy from my grasp but you were wrong. Even now, she is reading one of my tomes in my study far from here. I just thought you would want to know that she will prove to be a worthy apprentice and if something should happen to myself, a worthy successor as well."

Faust teleported himself away from there laughing.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Oz had seen Zarina enter the Bronze but hadn't thought much of it at first. The band was setting up and was scheduled to perform tonight. It wasn't until Devon had been staring at the magician's outfit that Oz saw something was wrong. Zarina's normally black hair was blonde and he wasn't even going to begin to describe the outfit she was wearing. He walked off the stage and towards his friend who was chatting with a few of the guys.

"Zarina, something's different about you." He said to her.

Zarina flashed her million dollar smile at him. "I just wanted to cut lose a bit, Oz." She replied. "No need to be concerned but you do look kinda cute when you're concerned. Too bad you're with Willow otherwise..."

_This is definitely not like her._ Oz thought. _I need to get her out of here and back to her house. Maybe Zatanna might know what's wrong._

"I think I need to take you back to your house now." Oz told her before one of the guys stood in front of him blocking his path.

"Why don't you get back on stage, Osbourne, and leave the lady with us?" The guy asked demanding him with the tone of his voice.

"I don't want to fight you but consider you're referring to." Oz replied. "Zarina isn't in the right frame of mind to be out right now. You may not have to deal with an angry father at home if you have a little fun with her but what will be coming after you is a lot worse."

"And what could be worse?" Asked another one of the guys.

"From what I hear, Batman and Zatanna were childhood friends." Oz informed them. "Do you really want him coming after you?"

"Assuming there will be anything left when I get done with you." Cyborg said from behind Oz.

Oz turned around a bit surprised that the Titan could have snuck up behind him like that but he was rather glad he did. A few pieces suddenly fell into place and Oz shook his head.

"Willow cast a spell, didn't she?" Oz asked.

"Yah, we're trying to gather the other personifications." Cyborg said as Beast Boy shifted into a gorilla form to grab the personification. "I guess we can call this one Lust."

"Mind if I head back to Zarina's house?" Oz asked. "I want to help."

"No problem." Cyborg replied.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Starfire and Miss Martian flew over Sunnydale hoping to spot one of the personifications. Other than saving a few people from the vampires that seemed to be coming out of the woodwork, they weren't having much luck.

"We are getting no where." Miss Martian said. "The personifications could be anywhere."

"Then, we will have to search everywhere." Starfire responded.

"Was that a joke?" Miss Martian asked.

"Maybe." Starfire replied.

It wasn't long after that Miss Martian felt the most deepest feeling of sorrow that she had even thought possible. She looked over at Starfire.

"I think I might have found Sorrow." Miss Martian informed Starfire.

They flew lower to find a blue-haired version of their friend sitting on a park bench. A group of people were starting to gather around her.

"Starfire, they're vampires." Miss Martian exclaimed. "I can't read their thoughts."

"Get away from our friend!" Starfire yelled hurling star bolts at the vampires. Even though not all of the star bolts hit the vampires, the solar energy that they were made of dusted them as quickly as if they had been teleported to the sun.

They landed next to the bench and saw the version of their friend had been crying heavily.

"Why did you even bother?" Sorrow asked them.

"Because you're our friend." Starfire replied. "We didn't want you to get hurt."

"But my oldest friend in the world hates me. She doesn't think I deserve to live." Sorrow told her. "What if she's right? My existence has cost her only remaining childhood friend."

Sorrow's crying intensified and Miss Martian pulled her into a comforting hug. It seemed to help the personification of her friend's innermost pain slightly but still she cried.

_If I get the chance, this Willow girl will not like what I do to her._ Miss Martian thought to herself.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Ravager followed on the ground as Blue Beetle and Static were in the air. According to a few more details they managed to get out of Cordelia, they should be in the area that the personification of Zarina's rage should be.

"Dude, I really don't like vampires. Ever since I encountered them in Dakota City, I've never left home without a stake." Static exclaimed. "I'm just glad my powers still work on them like a human."

"Hey, at least you're not wigged out by magic unlike other people I know." Blue Beetle said in reference to the scarab.

"Can it guys!" Ravager yelled at them. "I hear something."

It sounded liked someone moaning in pain and soon they found out why. A young woman dressed in a style that bordered on gothic/slut was bleeding on the hood of a car. Wooden stakes had been driven into her major joints and she had been beaten severely. It reminded Ravager of something her father would have done had someone done something to either her or her brother.

"Damn, who did this to you?" Static asked her.

"Careful, my scanners aren't picking up a heartbeat." Blue Beetle informed his fellow Titan.

"Some redheaded bitch dressed like a fucking stage magician." Sunday said. "I thought the Slayer was bad but she...just stake me please."

Ravager pulled one of the stakes out and put the vampire out of her misery. She walked over to where Static and Blue Beetle had landed.

"Hey, you didn't have to put the corpse out of its misery!" Rage yelled leaping out into the open.

"Look, Zarina." Static said a little shocked by the red hair. "You're under the influence of a spell that your friend, Willow, has cast."

Blue Beetle and Ravager glared at Static trying to silently tell him to shut up about that part. Rage started to walk away from them.

"Where are you going?" Blue Beetle asked.

"I'm going to find Willow and wear her rib cage for a hat." Rage said. "I think only Rose has a chance of stopping me though."

Static tried to fire off a burst of electricity to stop her but Rage was able to dodge the blast and retaliated with a sphere of magically conjured water that she used to short out Static's powers. Before Blue Beetle could react, a fireball was in Rage's hand.

"Want a little fire, Scarecrow?" Rage asked knowing that the scarab was afraid of magic.

No one noticed the person who had snuck up behind her with a baseball bat and hit her in the back of the head with it. The three Titans were about to go defensive when they realized who it was.

"Faith, nice to see you again." Ravager said.

"I'm just glad you managed to distract her so I could get the drop on her." Faith replied. "Hey Sparky, you okay?"

"It's Static." Static snapped back a bit frustrated.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Buffy and Giles were spotted by the little girl before they spotted her. She began to shake her head.

"Buffy hates me." She said running away from the two older people she knew.

Little Zarina ran into a building to hide from them. She didn't want Buffy to find her. The blonde girl didn't like her but Giles was okay for an old guy. Something fell in the building she was in and she realized why it had seemed deserted. Six vampires crawled out of the woodwork and walked towards her. She was wishing that her mother was here or Bruce or Diana. Even though she didn't like Rachel, she'd welcome Rachel being here to help.

"I didn't know there was delivery in this stinking town." A male vampire said.

Little Zarina screamed and tried to run away but was grabbed by another of the vampires. The vampires began to push her around to one another laughing at the fear that they were feeling off the little girl.

"What do you say if I take the first taste?" One of the vampires asked.

The loud sound of shattering glass filled the building as someone leapt through one of the windows. Turning to face the intruder, Little Zarina recognized her raven-haired savior in an instant.

"Drusilla!" She exclaimed.

Drusilla glared at the vampires who were holding the little girl hostage. Forgoing her normal standard of attire, the vampire had chosen to wear a black body suit that would allow her to have maximum range of motion. A belt loaded with wooden stakes hung at her waist.

"Get away from her." Drusilla ordered the vampires.

Defying her order, the vampires charged at her. Drusilla slammed a stake into the chest of the closet vampire to her as she dodged a haymaker punch from another. The vampire who had tried to throw the haymaker punch received a stake in the back for her trouble. With two of their number down, the vampires seemed to be a little hesitant about how sure their chances were. Drusilla didn't give them much time to reflect as she rushed them. She threw a stake at one of the vampires only for the vampire, who looked like he might have been sired at Sturgis from his chosen apparel, to catch the stake.

"What are you going to do now, bitch?" He asked.

Drusilla didn't reply verbally but instead grabbed the arm of the biker vampire. She broke the vampire's arm and made him drive the very stake he held into his own chest causing him to explode into dust. One vampire decided to show some sense and run away while the last two tried to rush her from both sides. Drusilla pulled out a pair of stakes, twirled them in her hands, and slammed the stakes into their chests when they came close enough. Dusting off her hands, Drusilla walked over to the little girl who smiled up at her.

"Thank you, Dru." Little Zarina said.

"I was glad to be able to help you, Kitten." Drusilla replied. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Well, I don't know." Little Zarina replied. "I just found myself in a playground and I tried to walk home but I got lost and I didn't know where I was. Then, I saw Buffy walking around but I couldn't ask her for help because she hates me."

Little Zarina began to cry heavily and Drusilla embraced the girl in an effort to calm her down.

"Don't be sad, I'm here now." She said softly. "I'm going to take you to see your mummy."

Drusilla noticed that Little Zarina had somehow fallen asleep and smiled. She picked Little Zarina up into her arms and walked out of the building. As she began to walk in the direction of Zarina's home, she remembered how she came to this point.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_She had broken up with Spike soon after the conversation she had with Zarina. Her childe had came home drunk again and she simply couldn't forgive him for that. The visions she had been having were confusing her. Some of the visions she had been having were of her back in Sunnydale helping Zarina while others have been of her helping the bat who liked to spread fear into his adversaries. She had been wanting to help Zarina more but knew that without a soul, she wouldn't be trusted._

_This is what had led her to Madam Xandu. It had not been an easy journey but she had managed it. The old woman didn't seem surprised that she had come and had even invited her inside._

"_I know why you have come, Drusilla." Madam Xandu informed her. "I find your concern for my goddaughter rather sincere."_

"_Can it be done, Madam?" Drusilla asked. "I really want to help her. I want to be good but I don't have the cricket in my head like others do."_

"_I understand, Drusilla." Madam Xandu replied. "Yes, it can be done but the spell I intend to do will not only restore your soul but your sanity as well. Are you prepared for that?"_

"_Yes." Drusilla said. "I want to be a good girl again."_

_A week later, Drusilla was almost wishing that she hadn't gone through with the ritual. The first thing she had done when the ritual was complete was to vomit which had surprised her as she didn't think she was still able to do. Xandu had been kind enough to help her through the grief she was feeling as she remembered what she had done in the past otherwise it may have taken longer for her to adjust to her newly returned sanity and soul._

_Then, she had a vision of Little Zarina inside the vampire nest._

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Buffy was thankful that she had been allowed inside Zarina's home after everything that had happened. She was slightly awed at the number of heroes she had seen in the house but she was also greatly concerned for what might happen to Willow. Her friend was in trouble for casting a dangerous spell and she seemed powerless to do anything about it.

"Hey, Wonder Girl." Lust said. "Remember that party on Themyscira, I think I still have rope burns from your lasso from when you tied me up. Do you have any reminders from when I tied you up."

Blue Beetle laughed. "That has to be an effect of the spell." He said trying to reason what he was hearing only to get nudged by Static when the Bang-Baby noticed the demigodess blush.

The realization left everyone in the room speechless except for Lust who was snickering about it. Finally, Wonder Girl spoke out in her defense.

"We were both a bit drunk." Wonder Girl said. "Besides, what else do you think happens at a Themysciran party? Men aren't allowed on the island."

Before anyone could answer, a knock could be heard on the front door and Oz answered the door. The native Sunnydale residents were stunned when Drusilla walked right into the living room seemingly without being invited in like was normal for a vampire or teleported in like they had been in order for the house to recognize them as welcome guests. Buffy reached for a stake but her hand was stayed by Giles who pointed to the small child that Drusilla was holding out to Zatanna.

"I've brought this sweet little girl home to her mummy." Drusilla said to the magician.

"Thank you." Zatanna replied happy that not only would her daughter would survive this but also that she got to chance, in a way, to hold her little girl when she was younger.

"Giles, how did she get in here?" Buffy asked. "Vampires need an invitation to be let in."

Before Giles could respond, Zatanna responded. "I heard Madam Xandu had placed a soul back into a vampire; I didn't realize it was you." She said to Drusilla. "The house's wards must have recognized Zarina's godmother's magic on you and let you in because of it."

"I had a vision that someone would try to make Kitten like Humpty Dumpty." Drusilla said. "Hopefully, we shall prove better than the king's horses and his men when Zarina is put back together again."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

It was a couple of hours later when Doctor Fate led Zarina out to them. After everyone except for one redheaded witch expressed their relief that she was alright, Doctor Fate turned to face Willow.

"Ordinarily, I would turn you over to the Shadowpact for what you have done where you would be more than likely locked away in prison for a very long time." Doctor Fate told her.

"But, I asked him to show mercy." Zarina added though a bit weakly.

Willow's shock was clearly visible on her face as she realized that the one person she had hurt the most because of what she had done was asking for mercy to be granted on her behalf. Doctor Fate nodded acknowledging Zarina's request and Willow also saw the new principal nod as well.

"Therefore, I hereby bind your powers and release you under the guidance of Jason Blood who will teach you how to properly use your magic. He will be able to unbind and bind your power while he is personally training you." Doctor Fate said as Willow noticed an ankh made of white light appear on her before fading as quickly as it was formed. "Once he is satisfied, your powers will be restored to you fully and completely. Do you understand, Miss Rosenberg?"

Willow nodded. "I do." She said.

"Go, I shall be leaving. Good night to you all." Doctor Fate said teleporting himself away.

Zatanna led her daughter back to her room as another knock could be heard on the front door. Faith opened the door this time to see the Watcher she had seen in the library when she had been sneaking a peek to see if Zarina was there. The Watcher smiled.

"Ah, Faith, I'm glad to finally meet you. I'm Wesley Wyndham-Price, your new Watcher." He said greeting her.

Faith shook her head. "I don't think so, Wussley." She said. "I ain't taking orders from you. Besides, last person that claimed to be my new Watcher was a twisted little freak bitch that I beheaded."

"Faith, I have been well informed of that particular incident and rest assured, I am not evil and am really your Watcher." Wesley replied with a hint of resentment in his voice.

Faith smiled as a plan formed in her mind. "So, you must be a pretty good Watcher." She said.

"I was not only top of my class at the Academy but I was also Head Boy." He replied.

Suppressing a laugh, she replied. "Okay, let's make a deal." She gestured for him to come inside. "If you can come inside, I'll be the most obedient Slayer you've ever seen."

"Very good, Faith." Wesley said.

Wesley smiled and took a step forward only to feel as though he had just walked into an invisible wall. He seemed taken aback by it and Faith laughed.

"Well, I guess I don't have to listen to you then." Faith said. "Have a nice night."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Blood dripped from the eyes of the guards who had been tasked with transporting the metahuman criminal. Harmony took the keys off the driver and unlocked the back door of the transport van. She saw Larry glare at her intently.

"Is that anyway to treat your new boss, Killswitch?" She asked.

Killswitch smiled. "Finally, someone figures it out." He exclaimed.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Mr. Trick heard the knock on the Mayor's office door and opened the door only to have a stake to be thrust into his heart. Wilkins smiled when he saw the dark haired teenage boy enter the office. He recognized who the boy was suppose to look like and stood up.

"Alexander Harris, what can I do for you?" He asked.

The boy smiled back at him that Mayor Wilkins would have sworn that the smile would have been right at home on the face of the Joker.

"I understand you have a job opening." He replied. "Oh, please call me Alpha."

Author's End Notes: Well, how was this for a new chapter. Please read and review. Let me know what you think.


	9. Laughing The Night Away

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Chapter 9

Laughing The Night Away

Faith and Zarina walked into Zarina's bedroom and flopped down on the magician's bed. They had just come home after a patrol and Zarina knew that Faith was waging a bit of an inner battle between being hungry and being horny. While she couldn't deny that she would not be averse to helping Faith with the latter of the two, she didn't want to strain their friendship. She got off the bed and reached under it to pull out a box that she put onto the bed. Faith stared at the alien box.

"What's in the box?" She asked.

"Remember when I said my tastes in chocolate are a little out of this world." Zarina replied. "Inside this box is a great amount of Thanagarian fudge and you'll see what I mean that it's out of this world."

Zarina opened the box and gave a piece to her friend. Hesitantly at first, Faith tried a bite of the alien chocolate before quickly devouring the fudge. The fudge was nothing like she'd had before and she watched as Zarina devoured her own piece with an almost equaled frenzy. Somehow, the fudge resisted melting until it entered a person's mouth and Faith noticed a drop of melted chocolate drip from Zarina's lips. Without thinking about it, Faith leaned in and licked the chocolate up to Zarina's lips before kissing her softly. Zarina responded to the kiss by pulling her closer to herself. The box of fudge fell off the bed as they fell onto the bed.

_I wonder if Faith is going to hesitate._ Zarina thought. She quickly heard the sound of ripping fabric and realized that it was Faith literally tearing her clothes off. _I guess not._

* * *

Zatanna let Cordelia in as the girl had proved to be a good friend of her daughter. She was a little surprised as to the girl's visit. The cheerleader hadn't made a habit of visiting and this did concern her.

"Cordelia is something the matter?" Zatanna asked.

"Not with me, Zatanna." Cordelia said glad that the older woman was okay with Cordelia calling her by her first name. "My friend, Aura, is outside and something is really bothering her. I thought to bring her here so that she could talk with you and Zarina."

"Think she's a Bang Baby?" Zatanna asked.

"Yah, but my powers didn't give me any clue as to what her powers were. All I got were a rainbow of colors." Cordelia replied.

"Zarina is still up in her room. I'll bring your friend in and you go wake up Zarina and Faith." Zatanna said.

"Okay." Cordelia said wondering why Zatanna had a smile on her face.

Cordelia headed up the stairs to Zarina's room and knocked on the door. She heard a few incoherent shouts but she did hear one thing very clearly.

"Hey Zarina, where'd you chuck my bra?" Faith asked softly.

Cordelia's eyes widened with the news of what she heard. She tried to sort out the facts in her head. One: Faith had slept in Zarina's room with Zarina last night. Two: Zarina has had sex with Wonder Girl in the past. That much she knew thanks to Lust ratting Zarina out which was also Willow's fault because of the stupid spell that she had cast in order to get Xander back but it was also Felix Faust's fault because he sent the book to Willow in the first place. Three: since Zarina had apparently chucked Faith's bra somewhere, it could only mean that the two had slept together last night. Those three facts alone where causing Cordelia to realize that she was about to hyperventilate. She tried to steady her breathing as Faith opened the door.

"Hey C, whatchaya doing over here today?" Faith asked.

"Well, I think one of my friends is a Bang Baby and it is scaring the crap out of her." Cordelia said. "I thought she might feel better talking to Zatanna or Zarina about what's going on with her seeing as she knows who they are and what they do."

Faith turned her head slightly and asked. "Zarina, you decent yet?"

"Yah, Faith." Zarina said. "You might as well open the door because I bet Cordelia already knows."

Faith opened the door to let Cordelia in. Zarina had put on a gray t-shirt with a matching pair of gray sweatpants. Cordelia noticed that Zarina had pushed a box back under her bed but she wasn't going to press the issue.

"Do you remember Aura?" Cordelia asked.

"Yah, she's part of your flock of Cordettes." Zarina said.

"That's her. She was at the Bronze the night of the Big Bang and I asked her if anything strange was going on with her when she broke down crying like I had told her that her grandma just died or something." Cordelia said. "I brought her here hoping you and your mom could help her."

"You did the right thing, Cordelia." Zarina said. "Here being freaked about her powers is actually a really good sign."

Faith looked at Zarina. "What do you mean by that?" Faith asked. "How can being scared of her powers be a good sign?"

"Because Faith, she's worried that she might hurt someone with them. Look at Larry or as he would rather be known as Killswitch, he gained power and used it to hurt people. Clearly, he wasn't exactly balanced to begin with. Cordelia was freaked about her own powers and sought out help with them. You had to have been freaked when you became a Slayer." Zarina explained. "After everything got sorted in my head, I didn't exactly freak because of my mom's memories running through my head."

"Let's go see your friend." Faith said.

The trio headed downstairs to see Zatanna handing a steaming mug to Aura. Aura was sitting on the couch and sipped the contents of the mug. She smiled slightly when Zarina entered the room. 

"Thanks for seeing me." Aura said. "I don't mean to be rude but I don't know about your friend but I don't think Cordelia has any powers."

"I'm a seer." Cordelia said. "It may not be as flashy as super strength or magical powers but it is useful."

"Super strength?" Aura said clearly questioning what she had just heard.

".rabeR" Zarina said before a piece of rebar appeared in her right hand. "Here you go Faith."

Faith proceeded to bend the rebar until it resembled a pretzel. She handed the metal pretzel over to Aura who could only stare.

"I bet you don't have much of a problem with ex-boyfriends." Aura said. "So, are you a Bang Baby also?"

"No, I am one of two girls in all the world with the strength and speed to fight the forces of darkness. At least, that's the Watcher's line of shit." Faith said. "I've learned that not all darkness is evil and that not all light is good. You have to judge for yourself. I'm a Vampire Slayer. I hunt the creatures of darkness that are hell-bent on destroying our world."

"Cool, so you're a superhero also." Aura said extending a hand. "This is what I can do."

A yellow ball of light appeared in Aura's outstretched hand. The color of the ball changed to green and an idea formed in Zarina's mind.

"Aura, I want you to try to shape the ball into something else." Zarina said. "Can you do that? It doesn't matter what."

The green ball of light transformed into a green kitten that walked its way up Aura's arm to her shoulder. Zarina could hear it purr as it rubbed itself against Aura's head. Aura petted the kitten before grabbing it to place it into her lap.

"I think I might know what your powers are, Aura, but I think we need some outside help." Zarina said. "Mom, think you can ask one of the Green Lanterns to help?"

"You're thinking that Aura's powers might be like theirs?" Zatanna asked.

"Actually, I think that Aura's powers might be exactly like theirs. Didn't anyone feel a little afraid when the ball was yellow but we calmed down when it shifted to green?" Zarina explained. "I think Aura might be tapping into the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum."

"What is the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum?" Aura asked.

"When sentient life first evolved in the universe, the Spectrum was created. It is the seven basic emotional states that all other emotions come from." Zatanna explained. "The Guardians utilize the green light of willpower that gives Green Lanterns their power. The Sinestro Corps uses the yellow light of fear. The Blue Lanterns use the blue light of hope. The Red Lanterns utilize the red light of rage. The Star Sapphires use the violet light of love. The Indigo Tribe uses the indigo light of compassion and the Orange Lanterns use the orange light of avarice or greed."

"Been talking to a few people I know too?" Zarina asked her mother.

"Hey, what can I say?" Zatanna asked. "I've met only one Green Lantern from this planet who can hold their liquor." 

"I'm that powerful?" Aura asked as the color of the cat shifted to yellow. "What if I hurt someone?"

Zatanna took Aura into a comforting embrace. "Honey, you asked for help because you didn't want to hurt anyone. I can contact a few of the Green Lanterns I know and I know they'll be willing to help you control your powers. You're not going to go through this alone." She said to the crying girl.

"Thank you." Aura said.

"Would it be all right if I take you to the Watchtower?" Zatanna asked. "It'll be a lot quicker for my Green Lantern friends to get there."

"Yah, it's okay." Aura replied. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Ekat aruA dna em ot eht rewothctaW." Zatanna said teleporting herself and Aura away.

It was bit of a silent moment before Cordelia chose to break it. "So you and Faith slept together." She said.

Zarina grinned. "Well, I don't know how much sleep we got last night." She replied with a laugh.

Faith laughed at that remark. "How did you know how to do that one thing you did?" She asked.

"What do you expect?" Zarina asked. "I spent a few months on Themyscira. Come on, it's an island populated by beautiful ageless women who lived there for like three thousand years and no men. What did you think they did to relax?"

Cordelia tried to shake the image. "I'm sorry. I just always pictured Wonder Woman with either Superman or Batman." She said which made Zarina laugh.

"Yah right, Batman is way too dedicated to his job to have any kind of personal life and Kal and Diana are just friends." Zarina replied.

"Kal, who's Kal?" Faith asked.

"It's the name that Superman's birth parents gave him, Kal-El." Zarina explained.

Before anyone could reply, Zarina's communicator began to ring and she picked it up to answer it. It was Wonder Girl calling her.

"Zarina, Raven said she needed to see you right away." Wonder Girl said.

"What's going on?" Zarina asked.

"I don't know. If Cordelia and Faith are there, bring them if they want to come." Wonder Girl said. "I have something I need to say to them."

Wonder Girl ended the conversation as she hung up on her end and Zarina put her communicator away. Zarina looked over at her friends.

"You want to come?" She asked them.

"Sure, I'm curious what she has to say." Faith replied.

"Well, I was going to go shopping but it isn't every day that I'm invited to Titans Tower so I guess I can go." Cordelia replied.

* * *

Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Giles were busy in the library trying to research whatever might be plaguing Angel. The golden-haired slayer didn't like how the love of her life was being tormented and she was going to do whatever it took to save him. She looked over towards Oz noticing the distance he was placing between himself and his now ex-girlfriend, Willow. The break up had been rather nasty and things were said that were probably best unsaid but everyone who was in their group knew the reason for why it had occurred. Buffy knew that Oz felt, as if he was worried about what Willow might do to keep everything like she wanted it in her life. Even though Willow no longer had any access to her powers thanks to Doctor Fate, Oz still didn't want to go out with her because of what she had done.

"I have brought food for everyone." Drusilla said as she entered the library.

Buffy was surprised as anyone as to Drusilla's arrival. The raven-haired vampire carried a stack of pizza boxes in one hand and dragged a cooler behind her with the other. Oz went to help her set everything down.

"Drusilla, how did you get her?" Giles asked. "It's the middle of the day."

"Jason set up a few magical points of transit within his home." Drusilla said smiling.

"Cool." Oz said before opening the cooler. "Okay, guessing the things that obviously are not Capri-Suns are yours?"

"Jason got them for me. He doesn't like the idea of me needing to go to the butcher shop." Drusilla explained.

"So is that human or..." Oz said.

"Let's just say no being died or was harmed to acquire it." Drusilla replied. "I don't know much after that because my fair knight used his magic to acquire it."

"So you and Jason are..." Buffy said before Drusilla nodded. "So I guess he's into older women."

"Truth be told, he's actually quite older than I am." Drusilla replied. 

Before Buffy could respond to that, they heard the sound of heavy breathing and they saw someone who they knew shouldn't have been there but he was. Willow let out a high pitched squeal and ran over to him. She wrapped him in a bear hug.

"Xander!" She exclaimed. "I knew it would work."

"Wills, need oxygen." Xander said smiling.

Willow released him and she turned to look at the others in the room. She was slightly startled when she saw Drusilla backing away from Xander slowly.

"What's the matter, Dru?" Willow asked. "My Xander's back."

"That's not Kitten." She said almost to the point of anger.

"What do you mean Drusilla?" Giles asked. He knew full well her psychic abilities, which was leading him to trust what she was sensing.

"That's a Bad Dog." Drusilla said.

Xander laughed. "You know, I thought I would have had more time before anyone figured out what I was but I guess I was wrong." He said grabbing Willow around the throat.

"Giles, what's going on?" Buffy asked confused.

"Buffy, I'm hurt." Xander said. "I thought you would have remembered the last time you and me were in the library. I tried to show you my true feelings for you and you hit me with a desk." "The Hyena, but Giles exorcised it." Buffy stated. "You shouldn't be here."

"Ever wonder why I was the alpha in the pack. My spirit was the strongest out of all of them." Xander said pulling a gray medallion out that was hidden by his shirt. "When G-Man did his spell, I was merely weakened allowing your precious Doughnut boy to retake control. Then, my sweet Willow's spell released me from my prison."

Xander pulled the medallion off when suddenly; Willow managed to kick him between the legs. He released his hold on her and Willow grabbed the medallion. She ran over to Buffy whom she gave the medallion to.

"Guess what, Dog Breath, game's over." Buffy said before smashing the medallion.

Xander began to laugh hysterically as an orange wave of magic began to surround him. Buffy and Willow were confused.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Buff?" Xander asked rhetorically. "Com'n, I have all of Xander's memories and he got to know you better than any of your enemies could. I knew that you would think that all that you had to do to beat me was to break the medallion."

"Good Lord, you planned this out from the beginning." Giles said.

"Got it in one, G-Man." Xander said as he turned to look over at Willow. "No wonder you were the real brains around here."

He suddenly convulsed as his body began to expand. While his pants were somehow able to remain intact by this expansion, his shirt was torn to shred. Brown fur began to cover his body as he grew. His face mutated till it resembled more like a hyena than a man. Hands became more canine while still retaining some human touches. When the transformation was complete, he let out a hyena-like laugh.

"One, two, Alpha's coming for you." He said before laughing again.

Drusilla charged at him but Alpha grabbed her and hurled the female vampire into the book cage. Quicker than anyone could realize, he had shut the cage's door. He laughed again at the group.

"Well, that's one down." Alpha said before laughing again. "Four to go."

Buffy ran at him but Alpha quickly grabbed a desk that he was close to and slammed it over her head. She fell to the ground unconscious and Alpha laughed again.

"Well, I guess you now know what that feels like." Alpha said laughing. "How does it feel to receive a taste of your own medicine?"

A shot from a crossbow that Giles had managed to grab struck Alpha in the shoulder. Alpha grabbed the arrow from his shoulder and glared at the Watcher.

"That hurt." Alpha said.

Alpha ran over to Giles and grabbed the Watcher by the throat. He hurled the Watcher into a bookshelf knocking him out. Oz grabbed a wooden chair and managed to break the chair against the back of his foe. Alpha spun around and grabbed him by the throat.

"It's time to show you respect, pup." Alpha growled at him.

Alpha noticed Willow trying to grab a weapon so he hurled Oz into her. This knocked both of them out which made Alpha laugh again.

"Well, I believe to the victor goes the spoils." Alpha said as he eyed Buffy.

* * *

Zarina walked into Raven's room to see her reading a book. Raven looked up from the old tome.

"It's good that you came." Raven said. "I have some startling news."

"What is it about Rachel?" Zarina asked.

"When I tracked Willow to Buffy's house, I met her sister." Raven said before noticing Zarina was confused. "Is something wrong?"

"Buffy doesn't have a sister." Zarina replied.

"I'm getting to that." Raven replied. "I checked all the records I could find and they all say that she exists. I believe though that all records of her existence may be because of a powerful spell to hide something."

Zarina walked over to the book that Raven was reading. After reading the page, she turned around and began to pace around in a circle.

"So you're saying that someone or something chose to hide this Key like this and used a memory spell to insert the memories into everyone that should know her." Zarina said. "So why don't I know her? If you're right, which I know you are, then I should have memories of her but I don't."

"My guess is that the spell that Doctor Fate and I used to restore you may have expelled anything that didn't belong." Raven said when she noticed Zarina stopped pacing.

"Could that include Primal Spirits?" She asked.

"Possibly, why do you ask?" Raven replied.

"Can you check?" Zarina asked tapping her head.

"You know that I can act as a bridge but you'll need to find at least a couple of people who will be willing to go into your mind. Your mind isn't as accessible as most minds are which requires others to enter your mind while you are unconscious and another is acting as a bridge." Raven said. "Perhaps Megan and Rose would be good choices."

"Megan wouldn't quite know what to look for plus there may be a few things in my mind I wouldn't want to expose her too." Zarina said. "Rose and Faith would be good though."

"I'll make the preparations for the spell while you get them." Raven replied.

Zarina left Raven's room and after a brief search, she found her way to one of the training areas to see Cordelia watching Rose and Faith spar each armed with a wooden katana. She walked over next to Cordelia.

"So, what did Wonder Girl have to say?" Zarina asked.

"Cassandra wanted to thank us for helping with that little mess Willow made and she asked us if we'd join the team." Cordelia said showing Zarina her own communicator. "I'm mainly support until I get the training to do field work but Faith has been put on the active roster as 'Slayer'."

"Did you pick a code name yet?" Zarina asked.

"Delphi, as in the Oracle of." Cordelia replied. "I though about just Oracle but I heard that one's been taken. Until I get the training, I just go through newspapers and wait for a vision. I can even get through to the JLA Watchtower with this if need be."

Rose and Faith quit with their sparring and walked over to them. The girl that most people knew as Ravager brushed back a bang of white hair away from her lone eye with a hand.

"Hey Zarina, Merry Christmas." Rose said. "How's your Christmas shopping going?"

"Well, got a couple of t-shirts that say 'I hear voices and they don't like you'." Zarina replied. "Take a wild guess on the two people who'll be getting those shirts."

"Oh my god! You didn't." Rose exclaimed before she read Zarina's face. "You did."

"But onto a more serious note, can you two come with me to Raven's room?" Zarina asked. "I need a couple of volunteers to enter my mind."

"What's up?" Faith asked.

"Remember Buffy's sister?" Zarina asked getting nods from Faith and Cordelia. "Well, I don't."

Cordelia's face was wrought with confusion. "Hello." Cordelia said. "How could you not know her? Xander spent way too much time over at Buffy's house. Hell, I know Dawn."

"Raven thinks that the spell that restored me expelled anything that didn't belong. She thinks that someone or an entire group may have inserted Dawn and cast a spell to make everyone think that she belonged." Zarina explained. "She's like a container for a mystical artifact known as the Key. The Key's energy if uncontrolled could annihilate the entire universe." 

"So when the Doc and Rae-Rae worked their voodoo on you, the spell was destroyed." Faith said. "We can not tell that little tidbit to B. She'd flip."

"Exactly, but that isn't what is troubling me." Zarina said. "A few weeks after Buffy first arrived in Sunnydale, Xander was possessed by a Hyena Primal Spirit. In fact, it was the alpha of the pack. The spell that was suppose to exorcise the spirit from Xander only weakened the spirit allowing Xander to regain control."

"So if the spell is gone, you think the spirit might have escaped as well." Rose replied.

"That's why I need you guys to go into my head." Zarina said. "I need to know if the hyena is still locked in its cage."

* * *

It didn't take very long for Faith and Rose to get into Zarina's unconscious mind. The mindscape took the form of Sunnydale High and they walked down the halls of the school. Faith smiled at what she saw.

"Figures that Zarina would have this as a set up." Faith said.

"I just want to know what your intentions are towards her." Rose replied stopping in the halls.

"What's this about, Rose?" Faith asked.

"Zarina's like a little sister to me and she's one of the few people I can actually call a friend." Rose explained. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Is this the part where you threaten me with a shovel?" Faith asked.

"Of course not, my father is the world's greatest assassin. He taught me quite a few tricks." Rose said smiling. "A shovel should be the least of your worries about what I can do to you."

A blue ball came bouncing down a hall. It came to a rest at Faith's feet and she picked it up. A brown haired boy came running down the hallway and it appeared as though he was out of breath.

"Hi, can I get my ball back?" He asked.

"Here you go." Faith said tossing him the ball.

"Thank you." The boy said taking his ball back.

The boy ran back down the hall and Faith looked back at Rose.

"Let me guess, Xander's inner child?" She asked.

"Looks like it." Rose replied. "He must be playing with Zatanna's and Zarina's own inner children."

"How did Zarina join the Titans anyway?" Faith asked.

"Well..." Rose said.

* * *

Seven Months Ago...

"Does anyone know why Cassandra wanted us gathered here?" Beast Boy asked.

"Nope, but she said she's coming back from Themyscira today." Cyborg answered.

Beast Boy, Cyborg, Blue Beetle, Starfire, Static, Raven, Miss Martian and Ravager were the ones that were present in the Tower at the time. Everyone was a bit anxious until in a flash of light, two people teleported into the room. One of them was definitely Cassie but the other looked a bit like Zatanna from behind.

"Cool, I stuck the landing." The black haired girl said.

"Why do you sound surprised?" Cassandra asked the girl.

"Because I accidentally teleported into the middle of the Atlantic." She replied.

"Ahem." Beast Boy said. "Hi!"

They turned around and the girl dressed as though she was trying to look like Zatanna blushed from embarrassment. Cassandra however smiled at her teammates.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet a potential recruit for the team." She said. "Meet Zarina Zatara." 

* * *

Faith grabbed Rose's shoulder to steady herself. Both girls shook the mental cobwebs out of their minds.

"Let's not do that again." Faith said.

"Agreed." Rose replied as she noticed where they were. "Is the library important?"

"It's where B's Watcher works during the day." Faith said. "It just sounds like a bad comic book character. Librarian by day, Watcher by night."

They entered the library to see a few of the shelves were devoid of books and a frantic looking Giles was running around with books. He seemed to be sweating from quite a bit of exertion.

"Perhaps Zarina's impression of one of the smartest people she knows." Rose said.

"Or maybe the fact that I think the books are suppose to be her memory and he's a librarian sorting them out." Faith replied.

They noticed little Zarina sitting at one of the tables drawing on a piece of paper. Curiosity overtaking her, Faith walked over to her and smiled when little Zarina smiled at her.

"What are you drawing?" Faith asked.

"Your costume, Silly." Little Zarina said to her. "I have it in my room at the Tower."

Faith studied the costume. It was a mixture of black and gray material. The mask was black but seemed to be open to allow her hair to be loose. The top, bottoms, boots, and gloves were black as well but the cape was gray and there were a few gray stripes on the costume. There seemed to be some kind of utility belt on the costume as well.

"Cool, I wonder what kind of gadgets I got in the utility belt." Faith said.

Little Zarina produced a notepad and handed it to Faith. Faith grabbed it but was surprised when it faded into her and a flood of knowledge entered her mind. The slayer collapsed into a chair which concerned Rose.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

Faith turned to look at Rose. "I know kung fu." She said before smiling. "Sorry, couldn't resist. Just that notepad told me everything about the costume and gear Zarina got me."

Rose gestured over to the book cage. "I'm guessing something is suppose to be locked up there." She said before looking over at Little Zarina. "Hey, is something suppose to be in there?" She asked the little girl version of her friend.

"Xander's hyena." Little Zarina answered.

"Well, guess it's time to get out of here." Faith said.

"Azarath Metrion Zenthos!" Rose and Faith exclaimed in unison.

* * *

Both Rose and Faith inhaled deeply as they awoke. Zarina woke up soon afterwards and from a glance at her two friends, she knew the truth.

"Damn it." She exclaimed. "We've got to get back to Sunnydale now."

"I'll stop by your room here, Zarina." Faith said. "I think I need to get into costume."

* * *

Zarina, Ravager, Slayer, and Cordelia teleported into the school library to find it in complete disarray. It seemed as though something very large had decided to have a battle here. Drusilla was there waiting on them.

"Dru, where is everyone?" Zarina asked. "What happened here?"

"The bad dog came wearing your old face and tried to trick them but I was able to see what he really was." Drusilla said. "He used magic to transform himself and overpowered us. The bad dog took Buffy away. Jason's trying to scry for her but the Hellmouth is causing interference. Giles, Willow, and Oz are in the hospital"

"Faith, Rose, can you try to find Buffy?" Zarina asked. "I can think of someone else who might be able to help."

"Sure." Faith said running out of the library.

"Be careful." Rose said before taking off after Faith.

"I'll see if I can't pick up anything off what's left." Cordelia said to Zarina.

".ecalp s'legnA ot em ekaT" Zarina said teleporting herself to the Crawford Street mansion that Angel dwelt in.

Angel seemed highly agitated but also quite surprised by her appearance. He began to shake his head.

"You need to leave, Zarina." He said. "I'm not exactly wanting company right now."

"I can see that but this is important." Zarina replied. "Buffy's been kidnapped by a physical embodiment of the Hyena Primal Spirit that possessed Xander a couple of years ago."

"Buffy will be fine." Angel said. "I can't help her."

"No, she won't be fine. I don't know if we can get to her in time." Zarina told the brooding vampire. "What's wrong, Angel?"

"Lately, I've been tormented by these strange visions. They're the people I've killed over the years." Angel said. "I feel like I'm losing my mind. I can't think straight. They want me to hurt Buffy and I feel as though I might give in."

"That's it." Zarina replied. "You're just experiencing a Ghost of Christmas Past kinda thing? Suck it up and try to help Buffy."

"Don't you think I want to?" Angel snapped back at her. "Sunrise will take care of it."

Zarina walked over to him. "Of all the ways I could describe you, Angel, and coward never entered into it." She said. "Do you realize how many heroes have it worse than you and they still fight the good fight? Jason Blood betrayed Camelot but you don't see him ready to fall on his sword like you seem ready to do. The first member of the Green Lantern Corps that came from Earth is responsible for destroying the original Corps himself."

Angel knocked her down and grabbed hold of her shoulders. He shook her slightly.

"Am I a good man?" He asked her. "Am I worth saving? Am I?!"

"I don't know but Buffy believes you are." Zarina said. "But if you'd rather stay here and wallow in your own self-pity and then off yourself, go right ahead. You can't even look beyond what you've done to realize what you can do. If you can't even try to save someone you say you love, then you aren't a good man. You aren't worth saving."

* * *

It didn't take long for Zarina to locate the warehouse that Alpha was using as a base. From the rooftop thanks to a skylight that was conveniently in place, she was able to spy on the interior of the warehouse. She saw Buffy was chained to the wall and the canine adversary was laughing his head off.

"How does it feel, Buffy?" He asked her. "How does it feel to be powerless?"

Buffy didn't dare answer him. Answering him would have only satisfied him and she didn't feel like doing that. Seeing an opportunity, Zarina leapt through the skylight and kicked Alpha in the head. Alpha staggered back, mostly in surprise of the attack, and laughed again.

"So, I've got a pup." He said laughing.

"!ERIF" Zarina yelled firing a fireball at Alpha.

The fireball struck Alpha who began to try to put it out. Alpha put out the flames on his chest and growled in rage at Zarina.

"Did you think that could stop me?" He asked.

Suddenly, someone leapt through the window and tackled Alpha to the floor. The figure was clearly male and he delivered a swift punch to Alpha's jaw. The half human/half hyena hurled the man off of himself. Zarina recognized who it was.

"So, I see you've stopped brooding." Zarina said.

"I just needed someone to knock some sense into me. Free Buffy, I'll hold him off." Angel said.

Zarina ran over to Buffy as Angel walked over to the growling Alpha. Angel shook his head and laughed slightly which confused the lumbering brute.

"What's so funny, Deadboy?" Alpha asked.

"I know that you're not really him but I am so going to enjoy this." Angel said before shifting to his game face with a growl.

Angel kicked Alpha in the side a couple of times before dodging a blow to land a haymaker on Alpha's chin. The haymaker rocked him hard and seemed to have broken Alpha's jaw. Alpha charged Angel which sent the vampire to the floor. He then proceeded to pound into the vampire with everything that he was worth. Alpha grabbed a nearby broken piece of wood and raised it over his head.

"Good bye, Deadboy." He said laughing.

A hurled bola wrapped itself around Alpha's hands and Angel kicked the brute off of him to see Faith in her Slayer costume. The costume seemed to be a nice fit. Alpha could only stare at her.

"Who are you suppose to be?" He asked.

"I'm the new and improved Slayer." Faith said.

"Maybe I should have went after you instead." Alpha remarked.

"Sorry, Boytoy, but you aren't my type." Faith said hurling an object which wrapped itself around Alpha's chest.

"What's this suppose to---" Alpha began to say before being shocked by the object.

Alpha fell to the ground unconscious and Buffy walked over to Angel.

"Thanks for coming." She said.

"I probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been for Zarina talking some sense into me." Angel said.

"Angel, why don't you walk Buffy home." Zarina said as Ravager entered the building. "We can handle dog boy."

Buffy and Angel left to leave the three of them to stare at Alpha. Rose looked over at Zarina.

"So, Alcatraz?" She asked.

".zartaclA ot mih dneS" Zarina said teleporting Alpha away. "Rose, Mom said you're welcome to spend Christmas with us if you'd like."

"I would." Rose replied.

The three of them walked out of the warehouse as snow began to fall. They were a bit surprised but decided to not let it bother them.

* * *

Somewhere in England, George Wyndham-Price pushed the contract across the table to the man who even he was nervous to be in the same room with. It wasn't like the man was a demon of some kind. That would have actually made this a bit easier on him. The man was human but had a history that made most people tremble slightly when they heard it.

"So, do we have a deal?" He asked.

"No." Deathstroke replied pulling out two silenced pistols shooting George's guards in the head. "No deal."

"It's a simple contract." George said almost pleading with the man. "Just one person that you have to kill."

"Mr. Price, in my line of work one must weigh the pros with the cons and this contract does not benefit me in the slightest. In fact, I would become the most hunted man alive which is something I care not to be." Deathstroke explained. "You're asking me to kill the only child of a member of the Justice League. That's the first strike against you. The second strike against you is that the child is one of the few true friends my daughter has and I do not want to alienate my daughter anymore than I have already."

Fear gripped at George as he realized what his fate was going to be but curiosity ate at him as he wondered what the third strike was.

"What's the third strike?" He asked.

"The third strike came when I found out you were the one to sign the authorization papers to the strike team that tried to kidnap my daughter when she was an infant." Deathstroke said as he cracked his knuckles. "That is something I do not forgive."

Author's End Notes: So what does everyone think of the new chapter? Please leave a review.


	10. Who Taunted Murphy?

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Chapter 10

Who Taunted Murphy?

"It's not my fault-HIC!" Willow exclaimed.

"Who's the one who tried to cast a spell while she had the hiccups?" Faith asked rhetorically. "I know that I didn't and Boytoy doesn't have the hiccups."

Thanks to a demon forming a portal and a hiccupped spell made by Willow, they had found themselves in an empty warehouse. They meaning Buffy, Faith, Willow, Xander, Giles, Dawn, Spike, and Angel had fallen onto the floor of the warehouse.

"Don't sweat it, Red." Spike said dusting himself off. "We all make mistakes."

Willow stamped her foot. "I'm not suppose to." She replied.

After making sure his eye patch was on straight, Xander noticed a newspaper on the ground and bent down to pick it up.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, G-Man." He said handing Giles the paper.

"Good Lord, you're right." Giles said. "Sunnydale Gazette, December 28th 1998. Given the age of the paper, I'd say we've been transported back in time ten years."

Buffy grabbed the paper away from Giles. "That's got to be a mistake." She said as she looked at the paper. "How could a hiccupped spell send us back in time?"

"I don't know, Buffy." Giles said. "Perhaps when Willow hiccupped, the word she was trying to say was interrupted."

Willow rubbed the sides of her head. She felt as though something was trying to weaken her but she wasn't sure what it was. Dawn seemed kind of eager to be here though.

"So, do I exist now or did I really come into being in a couple of years?" Dawn asked. "I'm kinda curious."

They left the warehouse and out onto the street where a patrol car stopped in front of them. The lights were almost blinding them.

"Hey, cut that out." Buffy exclaimed.

The passenger side door opened and an officer stepped out. He flicked on his flashlight as the lights on the car died.

"What are you doing here around here at this time of night?" The officer asked.

Dawn stepped towards the officer. "We're just trying to find my dog, officer." She said before turning around and yelling. "Here, Spike! Come here, Spike!"

Spike was about to say a noise when Angel grabbed him and shook his head at his grandchilde. The officer seemed a bit skeptical.

"Miss, I doubt that you'll be able to do anything without a leash." He replied.

"Whoops, knew I forgot something." Dawn said smiling.

Willow felt a sudden surge of magic flow within her and her hand ignited in magical flames. It didn't hurt but whatever was in the area was. She had a momentary spasm which hurled the flame at the squad car setting the car ablaze.

"METAHUMAN ATTACK!" The officer within the squad car yelled. "WE NEED HELP!"

The officer within the car leapt out just before the squad car exploded. Both officers stared at Willow in fear of what she might be capable of. Xander began to shake his head.

"Wills, that could have went better." He said. "But metahuman, what is this a comic book?"

He saw what looked like a green flash of light and he realized that he'd just taunted Murphy. Murphy did not seem to like them very much. He saw three teenage girls dressed in different costumes. One girl was dressed in a black and gray costume with a cape and a utility belt. Another girl's costume seemed to be resemble a patchwork quilt. It was red, orange, yellow, indigo, green, blue, and violet in color. She had a green domino mask on her face to shield her identity. It was the third girl that Xander seemed to be staring at most. There was something about her that seemed to say that he had to know her. She was the only one of the three not wearing a mask and she was dressed like a stage magician. Except for pants, she seemed to be wearing fishnet stockings and she also seemed to be the leader of the group.

"I'll take the magic user." She ordered her team. "Slayer, you know who to take. Spectrum, you're on crowd control."

Without an acknowledgement from her teammates, they attacked them in force. From behind the green energy barrier that Spectrum had erected around him and the others, he watched as Slayer did battle with both Buffy and Faith. He initially believed that the two older Slayers would have handed this 'Slayer' her ass but it seemed to be the other way around as Slayer was dodging their attacks as well as delivering some rather hard attacks of her own. Willow didn't have much luck against the magician girl and he knew he had to try something.

"Why are you doing this?" Xander asked Spectrum.

"Why, you wouldn't understand." Spectrum said. "I am Rage. I am Greed. I am Fear. I am Compassion. I am Willpower. I am Hope. I am Love. I am Spectrum. As long as the lights shine within people's souls, I will fight."

Xander had hidden behind his back a flash bang and hinted to his group of his intent. He pulled the pin and hurled the grenade. Shielding his eye just before the blast, he heard her body hit the ground and a scream come from her.

"My eyes!" She yelled out.

The barrier dissolved and the group separated to help Buffy, Faith, and Willow. Spike tackled the magician girl to the ground and the two struggled against each other. Xander saw the girl grab Spike by the throat.

"Guess who's joining my act." She said to him in anger. "!TIBBAR"

Magical energy flashed from her and Spike was transformed into a white rabbit. Xander would have laughed had the situation been better. Slayer seemed to not be liking the situation either.

"Okay, I tried to fight fair but I guess the time has come for me to fight dirty." Slayer said as she hurled a bola at Buffy.

The oldest Slayer alive wasn't able to dodge it as the bola wrapped itself around her left arm. Buffy didn't seem too concerned.

"Looks like you missed." Buffy said smiling.

"Did I?" Slayer asked.

Electricity crackled from the bola shocking the blonde slayer into unconsciousness. Faith was concerned for Buffy but kept her attention on her adversary.

"I'm curious." Faith said. "How come you hit so fucking hard?"

"My suit's lined with Nth Metal. It's shielded so that it doesn't have any effect on my powers but it effects you every time you touch me." Slayer explained. "Whenever you strike me, your mystically enhanced strength is negated and you hit me like someone who is your size. Whenever I strike you, I end up hitting you with double the force."

Dawn grabbed Spike and they gathered around Willow who managed to teleport them away. It wasn't far and conveniently, it was close to a motel. Giles went over to pay for enough rooms and Dawn kept petting Spike.

"Show of hands, anyone find that as weird as I did?" Xander asked.

"It didn't seem normal." Angel replied. "I don't remember costumed vigilantes running around Sunnydale."

"Anybody think Spike makes a cute rabbit?" Dawn asked lifting up Spike. Spike didn't seem very happy but he stayed in Dawn's hands.

"How did she do that anyway?" Willow asked. "That girl's spells were like nothing I've heard before. She just said it backwards and it happened. Did she the way she was dressed? Who wears fishnet stockings to a fight?"

"Checking out her legs, Red?" Faith asked smiling.

"No, it's just that they were so attention grabbing and..." Willow said before she realized that Faith had trapped her and she shut up.

"That Spectrum girl was powerful too." Angel said. "How did she do what she did?"

"I don't know." Willow said. "Her magic was weird too."

"Just do get hit by that 'Slayer'. Her spandex is lined with some weird ass metal." Faith said.

* * *

Zarina walked into the library to see Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Giles were in. She sat down at the main table and sighed. This drew the attention of the school librarian.

"Rough night?" Giles asked.

"Yep, I turned Spike into a rabbit when he tackled me while I was fighting against a slightly older Willow. Faith was kicking her own ass and had already knocked out Buffy with one of her stun bolas." Zarina said. "Older Willow then teleported everyone away."

"Good Lord." Giles said. "Are you sure they were evil?"

"Not too sure but the blown up squad car was a big clue." Zarina replied. "My guess is that they might be from Earth-3."

"Earth-3, they're numbered?" Buffy asked. "Who would go to that much trouble?"

"My guess is the Guardians. There were fifty-two known universes before the last Crisis happened." Zarina explained. "Then, a lot of Earths got squished into one Earth."

"How come I don't get any cool gear, Giles?" Buffy asked. "Faith has all those cool gadgets."

Before Giles could answer, Zarina replied. "That would mean the Watcher's Council would have to get off their wallet and into the twentieth century."

"That's a bit uncalled for, Zarina" Giles said.

"Uncalled for, yah right. Your precious Council has money for Watcher's Retreats and I bet you the Council isn't strapped for cash but they can't equip a Slayer, who they are suppose to support, with anything that wasn't invented in the thirteenth century." Zarina said. "Your Council knows of metals that can dust a vampire with a single strike but they do nothing to get them."

Buffy was surprised and looked back at Giles. "There are metals that can kill vampires?" She asked.

"Certain magical swords have been known to dust vampires." He said.

"Nth metal has magic negating properties. Themysciran Steel could dust a vampire with a scratch." Zarina said. "Granted, Nth metal is only found on Thanagar and they couldn't get a hold of enough Theymysciran Steel to make a needle so I do understand."

"Like that sword I found under the tree from that Hippo lady?" Buffy asked which made Zarina laugh.

"Hippolyta, Buffy." Zarina said. "It's Hippolyta."

Giles began to clean his glasses. "The queen of the Amazons sent Buffy a Christmas present?" He asked.

"Actually, she wanted me to give it to her but I would have had to explain a few things that I wasn't ready to explain at the time." Zarina said smiling weakly. "Diana wanted to train with Buffy a bit but she decided against it when I told her everything."

"Why'd you do that?" Buffy asked. "You could have lied."

"I had her wrap the Lasso around me. Not that I'd actually lie to her but to let them know that I wasn't going to even attempt to." Zarina said.

Buffy decided to change the subject. "So, when do I find out who Spectrum is?" She asked.

"You don't unless she wants you to know." Zarina said. "She's trying to get use to being a hero, Buffy. I'm not breaching the trust she extended to me."

"Zarina, I have to agree with Buffy." Giles said going along with his charge. "Someone with that much power should be well monitored."

"Giles, that is crap and you know it. If Spectrum did go evil, Buffy would be toast. The League would handle Spectrum if she went evil which she won't go evil because she is scared of her powers. Her powers are causing her to tap into the entire Emotional Spectrum. No wonder she's scared. The only reason she's reasonably sane right now is the support she's getting." Zarina explained. "Her powers are not the Council's business. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get to class."

Zarina got up and walked out of the library not letting them have the chance to reply. She almost ran into Cordelia who seemed a little surprised.

"You okay, Cordy?" Zarina asked.

"Not really, my visions are getting weird." Cordelia said. "It's kinda like double vision. I'm seeing two of everyone."

"I'm not surprised. Faith, Aura, and I had a bit of a run-in last night with some doubles from some alternate universe." Zarina replied.

"Why do you think that?" Cordelia asked.

"Xander was with them though he was missing an eye." Zarina explained.

"Wow, one-eyed Xander." She said. "Wonder how that happened? The Willow in my visions seemed to be struggling with her magic."

"Fate's binding spell on our Willow's magic might be affecting the other Willow." Zarina explained. "She might be close enough dimensionally for the spell to effect her. Hopefully, they might know a way to return to their universe on their own but I doubt it."

"Patrol again tonight." Cordelia said. It was phrased as more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yep, get any other visions?" Zarina asked.

"One off of a copy of the Daily Planet." She said. "I told that J'onn guy about it and he let Superman know. I just hope my Aunt Lois will be okay."

Zarina smiled almost amused by what Cordelia had said. "Is the Lois that I'm thinking of the same one I'm thinking of?" Zarina asked.

"If you mean Pulitzer-award winning reporter, Lois Lane, then we're on the same page." Cordelia said. "Her husband is a major freaking boy scout though. I don't know what she sees in him."

"Hey, I've met Clark." Zarina said. "He's cool."

Cordelia laughed. "Why am I not surprised you know him?" Cordelia asked rhetorically. "Ran into him in Metropolis after a show?"

"Mom sent him and Lois a couple of tickets to a show I did in Metropolis." Zarina explained. "I met them afterwards. Anyway, I got to get to class."

* * *

Faith looked over the motel room and smirked. She shared this room with a rather grumpy Buffy but she understood why the blonde Slayer was grumpy. That bola that had shocked her would have left Faith grumpy as well.

"I think this is the same room I was in ten years ago." She said.

"Now that the history lesson is done for today, why aren't you in this room anyway?" Buffy asked.

"Don't know, B." Faith replied. "Giles thinks that we're in some kinda screwy alternate universe."

"I wonder if we even exist in this universe." Buffy replied.

Faith grabbed a phone book where she remembered it was located when she had stayed in this room years ago. Thumbing through it, she did notice something was weird.

"No Harrises in here. I found you, Red, and Giles." Faith said until she noticed a strange name at the end of the white pages. "Who in the hell is Zatanna Zatara?"

"Don't know but it sounds familiar." Buffy said as a knock could be heard on their door. "Come in."

Xander came in with doughnuts and coffee as well as a few newspapers. Faith grabbed them from him as he sat down. Buffy smiled.

"Hey Xander, do you remember a Zatanna Zatara back in Sunnydale?" She asked.

Xander began to laugh hysterically and both Slayers were confused by their friend laughing this hard.

"When did you two pick up a copy of the Justice League of America?" He asked.

"She's a comic book character?" Buffy asked. "Really."

"Yes, and apparently so is everything else in this universe." Xander said as he dropped one of the newspapers on the bed.

Faith picked it up and read the name of the newspaper before she began to laugh. "Oh my fucking God! B, do you know what this means?" She said.

"No, I don't recognize the paper." Buffy said. "Is it special?"

"B, it's the fucking Daily Planet." Faith replied not believing that Buffy didn't recognize what the paper meant. "As in the hometown newspaper of the Man Of Steel? The Last Son of Krypton? Come on B, you've got to know this one."

"Nope." Buffy replied.

Xander laughed again. "She means Superman, Buffy." Xander said. "We're in a universe populated by the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League of America. Now, I'm not surprised that we ran into a spandex squad."

"I think I know who that 'Slayer' chick might have been." Faith said which perked their attentions.

"Who do you think it is, Faith?" Buffy asked.

"Me." Faith replied. "I think she's me."

"You realize that seems a bit farfetched, don't you." Buffy said. "She fought better than both of us."

"It was her voice that told that it was me." Faith replied. "She said her suit was lined with Nth metal whatever that is."

"In the comics, it is a metal from the planet Thanagar that is capable of negating magic." Xander explained. "If 'Slayer' is you, then her Slayer abilities would've been negated as well."

"She said it was specially shielded so that she wasn't effected by it." Faith replied. "My double has better equipment here than I did."

"But that doesn't explain why Zatanna is living in Sunnydale. It just doesn't fit." Xander said. "She has an estate called Shadowcrest. Why would she be living here?"

"Maybe to defend the Hellmouth?" Buffy suggested.

"I doubt it, Buffy." Xander said. "Besides, Giles is going to try to talk to the only other person who could possibly understand him better than us."

* * *

(Giles) walked through the corridors of Sunnydale with a creepy feeling running up his spine. It wasn't that he was scared to be back. It just was strange to be back here. He walked into the library to find himself sitting at his desk. His other self noticed him and grabbed a crossbow.

"I assure you." (Giles) said. "I mean you no harm."

"I don't think the officers you attacked last night felt the same way." Giles said as he moved closer.

"Sorry about that. (Willow) experienced problems with her magic when we entered this reality by mistake." (Giles) said keeping his eyes on the crossbow. "The magical flame was purely accidental."

Giles set the crossbow down only to see Zarina enter the room. (Giles) was startled to see her and Giles smiled.

"I believe you've met last night, meet Zarina Zatara." Giles said introducing his counterpart.

"A pleasure." (Giles) said. "Are you the reason the Willow from my reality is weakening?"

"Partially, our Willow had her magic bound by Doctor Fate." Zarina explained. "Your Willow might be close enough dimensionally speaking for it to effect her as well."

"You don't mean the comic book character, do you?" (Giles) asked in disbelief.

Zarina laughed at the remark. "He's actually one of the most powerful magic users on the entire planet." Zarina told the older version of the school librarian/watcher.

"Zarina, do you think you might be able to help get them back to their reality?" Giles asked.

"I don't know." She said. "Cross-dimensional magical travel was never my expertise despite my mother's memories in my head. I can put out some feelers. Fate's great niece is a lot better at it than I am."

Zarina teleported herself out of the library and (Giles) turned towards his counterpart.

"I hope you're advising her on her magic use." (Giles) said.

"She wouldn't listen to me anyway." Giles said. "Not went she can turn to Doctor Fate, Madam Xandu, or even the principal."

"You mean she'd go to Snyder for magical advice?!" (Giles) exclaimed.

"Good Lord no, he's been dead for a month." Giles explained. "No, our principal is a man named Jason Blood who is in a relationship with Drusilla." Giles noticed his double was about to voice an objection. "She went to Madam Xandu and has regained her soul. Zarina was able to obtain a copy of the spell that Xandu had used and it allows for redemption for Drusilla."

"Could the same thing be used for Angel?" (Giles) asked a bit curious.

"No, the vampire in question has to want their soul back." Giles replied. "Since Angel is already cursed with his soul, he would have to lose his soul and then want it back. I highly doubt Angelus would ever want his soul back after losing it."

"Indeed." (Giles) replied.

* * *

(Angel) used the tunnels to get to Willy's bar. He was looking for information on the three female superhero wannabes that they had encountered last night and he knew that Willy would probably have it. The snitch seemed to be a little nervous to see him.

"Hi, Willy." (Angel) said. "I need some information."

"No can do." Willy said in a way that spoke of backbone which (Angel) knew that Willy lacked.

"Why not?" (Angel) asked a little annoyed.

A familiar voice spoke from behind him. "Because you're already here." He quickly realized that it was his own.

(Angel) turned around to see himself and Drusilla standing there. While his counterpart was dressed as he expected, Drusilla had taken a more modern approach. She was dressed in a red halter top and a black skirt. It made him think that she had went shopping with Buffy.

"I told you your counterpart would be here." Drusilla said.

"Sorry I didn't believe you, Dru." Angel said looking at his counterpart. "Well, we seem to be in a little predicament."

"Seems like it." (Angel) said trying to figure out an escape route.

"I don't think so." Drusilla said before producing an injector and stabbing (Angel) with it.

(Angel) collapsed on the ground Angel could only stare at the injector that Drusilla had pulled out of his counterpart. She put it a purse she had been carrying with her.

"What was that?" Angel asked his childe.

"Jason discovered a compound that while it has no effect on a human is capable of knocking out a vampire with a single dose." Drusilla said. "He'll be fine. Let's take him back to my and Jason's house."

"Okay." Angel said picking up his counterpart when it became clear that Drusilla wasn't going to.

Drusilla activated the spell which created an ankh-shaped portal that allowed them to return to the study in the house. The house was Victorian like Zarina's home but the two houses were like night and day in comparison. Where Zarina's house was bright and cheerful, Jason's house looked like somewhere that the Adams Family would have been comfortable living in minus the lack of cobwebs. Angel set his counterpart down in a chair that Drusilla had indicated to him. Once he sat his counterpart down, restraints magically worked to restrain the vampire. Angel was a little shocked by it and Drusilla laughed at her sire's shock.

"Jason found it in the late seventeenth century when he lived in London." Drusilla explained. "I was a bit shocked when I found it too though Jason took advantage. Not that I was complaining."

Angel shook his head. That was definitely information he didn't want to know.

* * *

(Buffy), (Willow), (Dawn), (Faith), and Xander had decided that there was someone they had needed to see that they hadn't seen alive in eight years. They stood outside the house on 1630 Revello Drive nervous. Seeing the Jeep Cherokee in the driveway told them that Joyce was home but they were still nervous. Finally, (Dawn) broke away from them and ran towards the front door. She knocked on the door rapidly as the others tried to reach her. Joyce opened the door.

"Hello." She said as she wasn't quite sure who it was. Joyce seemed to look over the young woman who was at her door. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "Dawn?"

(Dawn) smiled. "Yes and no." She replied.

Joyce's eyes widened when she spotted Xander and she slammed the door quickly. (Dawn) turned around and stared at Xander.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"I don't know." Xander replied.

(Dawn)'s eyes widened and they turned around to see the magician girl and Slayer walking towards them. The two teenage super-heroines didn't seem happy.

"We can do this the easy way where we take you away from here or we can do this the hard way where Slayer and I hand you your asses again and drag you where we intended to take you." The magician girl said. "Your choice."

As if anticipating the second response, Slayer had a stun bola in each hand. Electricity seemed to crackle off of them as she almost lazily swung them around. Buffy was a little nervous where the bolas were concerned considering that she knew what they felt like personally.

"Let's go with door number three." (Buffy) said trying to unnerve the two costumed individuals.

"There is no door number three." Ravager said as she approached them.

Xander gulped as he realized who the girl with one eye was. (Faith) didn't seem to recognize her and nudged her male friend.

"Who is the one-eyed chick?" (Faith) asked.

"The name's Ravager." Ravager replied a bit snappy before looking over at Slayer. "Care to explain?"

"They're from an alternate universe that wasn't even part of the 52." The magician girl explained.

"Okay, thanks Zarina." Ravager said. "I wanted to ask you about that thing you left me under the tree at Titan Tower."

"Sorry about that." Zarina said as if she was ignoring the situation for the moment. "I left it there in case you didn't want to spend Christmas with us. I did the research and I know I can do it."

"(Buffy), take door number one." Xander suggested. "We can't take them."

(Buffy) nodded clearly understanding what her friend meant. "Okay, door number one." She said.

"Good." Zarina said. ".emoh su ekaT"

A bright flash of light encompassed them and they found themselves standing in what they presumed was Zarina's living room. Slayer pulled off her mask, revealing her identity to the Scooby Gang, and ran a hand through her hair.

"Hey Zarina, I'm going to put on something a little less skintight." Faith said walking back upstairs.

(Faith) caught Zarina watching her counterpart walk up the stairs and laughed which drew Zarina's attention away from Faith. The look of embarrassment was priceless.

"Hey, nothing to be ashamed of." (Faith) said. "I do look good in those tights."

Zarina blushed and Xander caught on to what the blush represented. He managed to keep his cool but (Buffy), (Willow), and (Dawn) didn't seem to realize the reason why she was blushing.

"Am I missing something?" (Buffy) asked.

(Faith) walked over to Zarina with the same idea in her head that she knew that Xander had in his head.

"So, was she good?" She asked the magician whose blush deepened. "I knew it. She is me after all."

"Oh my goddess, my gay-dar didn't even go off around her." (Willow) said. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Zarina stomped a foot on the floor. "Listen, Doctor Fate's niece will be coming soon and I need to tell you guys something before she arrives." She said.

"What?" Xander asked.

Without a word, she went over to a shelf and pulled out what they recognized as the 1998 Sunnydale High yearbook. She handed it to Xander who noticed a newspaper clipping was being used as a bookmark. He opened the yearbook to the marked page and immediately dropped the book when he saw the clipping. (Willow) picked up the clipping and gasped bringing a hand to her mouth.

"(Willow), what's wrong?" (Buffy) asked.

"I'm dead." Xander answered his friend. "That's what you wanted to tell me."

"That's not completely it." Zarina replied. "Do you remember what happened October 31st, 1997?"

"Ethan Rayne did a spell that turned the costumes in his shop real." Xander replied. "(Buffy) became a noble lady from like 1775. (Willow) became a ghost and I became Soldier Boy. Are you telling me I died that night?"

"In this universe, Xander, you were unable to get the plastic gun to go with the soldier fatigues that you had at home. Ethan offered you another costume." She explained. "It was the costume of a magician."

"Oh my goddess, you're Xander?" (Willow) asked.

"Yes and no." Zarina said. "That night, Ethan tapped accidentally into Pure Chaos. The top hat from the costume originally belonged to Zatanna Zatara. When Ethan performed the spell, Zatanna used her magic to teleport to the Watchtower. Doctor Fate found out that Ethan's spell had cloned Zatanna's soul. After the spell ended, Xander's soul and Zatanna's own cloned soul fused together."

"So I did die." Xander replied sitting down on the couch.

"It was a rather difficult recovery for me." Zarina continued. "I spent a few months in Doctor Fate's tower learning what I could. Despite having my mother's memories, there was still much I needed to learn. Then, Diana asked me if I wanted to train on Themyscira and I jumped at the chance. After that, I went on tour."

Faith came back downstairs. "That's when I met her. Zarina and Blue Bowman saved me and my late Watcher from Kakistos." She added.

"Wait, then who killed Diana?" (Faith) asked her counterpart. "Kakistos killed her in our universe."

"It was Mister Freeze." Faith replied to herself. "He used that freezing gun of his that killed her. She just froze..."

Faith began to cry and Zarina wrapped her arms around her trying to comfort her. The others in the room were a bit astonished and waited for the two to separate before continuing.

"Hey, Boytoy." (Faith) said. "You make a pretty hot chick, you know."

"I really am Fate's butt-monkey." Xander muttered.

Zarina closed her eyes and began to shake her head. "Did you have to say that?" She asked. "You do realize I know the guy."

Both Faiths laughed at the faux pas that Xander had made as (Willow) turned her attention back to the magician girl.

"Have you even tried to turn back into Xander?" (Willow) asked.

"The cost would have been too high to try to reverse time to undo Halloween and there is no power that can undo what happened to me without my death." Zarina explained.

"But Xander didn't deserve to die." (Willow) exclaimed.

"Don't you think I don't know that. I'm all that is left of him after what Rayne did his spell." Zarina said with a few tears beginning to flow. "Damn it, every Willow I've met thinks I should die. Hopefully, you won't try to kill me like the last two did."

"Our Willow used a spell on Zarina to try to get Xander back but it almost killed her. That's why her powers are bound and Wolf-Boy broke up with her." Faith explained. "The other Willow is known as Chaotica. Zarina told me about her before. Not fun, trust me on that one."

A white ankh appeared and someone that (Buffy), (Willow), Xander, and (Dawn) knew quite well. Immediately, they mauled the girl in a group hug which took the girl by complete surprise.

"Wow, Zarina." She said. "I'd come over more often if I knew the welcomes would be like this."

"Sorry, Tara." Zarina replied. "I think you remind them of someone they know."

The quartet of huggers backed away and they all looked like they were about to cry. Tara was dressed in white with white shoes and a simple white dress. She wore gold hoop earrings in her ears but the quartet knew what was different about her. Unlike the Tara that they would have expected to see, this Tara didn't seem the quiet shy girl that they had remembered. This Tara displayed a confidence that they had rarely seen.

"We should first gather those who had came here first." Tara said. "Knowing who and what they are will help. Do not worry. I already know that this (Dawn) is a Key as well which is why we should hurry because the two Keys will tear themselves apart and quite possibly the universe with it."

A little unnerved, (Dawn) replied. "Well, there's us, Giles, Angel, and Spike."

"Spike and Angel might be a problem." Zarina said. "We won't be able to do the spell here because vampires can't enter my home."

Another ankh formed and Drusilla stepped out of it. (Buffy) pulled out a stake and (Faith) gestured towards the vampire who had entered Zarina's house.

"Normally, vampires can't enter my home but Drusilla is different." Zarina explained. "She had her soul restored by my godmother, Madam Xandu."

"I thought you would want to know that Angel and I were able to capture his counterpart." Drusilla said.

"Why did you capture (Angel)?" Buffy asked.

"He could have been hurt." Drusilla said. "Our Sunnydale isn't as nice as your Sunnydale was."

"Okay, how about Zarina and my older double go back to the motel room to grab Spike while the rest go to Blood's house?" Faith suggested.

"How do you know Spike's not with us?" (Willow) asked.

"Simple, don't see no white rabbit with you so you must have left him at a motel." Faith replied.

"Can't argue with that." (Willow) replied.

* * *

They teleported to the motel to see the door to the room Spike was left in had been smashed open. (Faith) turned to look at her counterpart and Zarina.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked. "Granted, I ain't to sure about how you do things in this universe."

Zarina flipped open her communicator. "Delphi, get Spectrum to teleport you over to my coordinates. It's important." She said before closing the communicator. "It shouldn't take too long for her to arrive."

In a flash of green light, Cordelia and Spectrum appeared and the cheerleader was surprised to see the two Faiths.

"Didn't you fight her last night?" She asked.

"Bit of a misunderstanding." Zarina said smiling. "We need to find Spike. I turned him into a rabbit last night and we think someone took him."

Cordelia nodded and headed into the room. (Faith) seemed a bit skeptical about why Cordelia was even here. Her counterpart noticed her skepticism.

"C is a Bang Baby. She has the ability to see things either in the past or the future based on what she touches." Faith explained.

Cordelia came out of the motel room with a few white hairs in her hand. She seemed to be staring at them intently.

"Find something?" Zarina asked.

"Spike is in the warehouse he and Drusilla use to stay in." Cordelia said handing the hairs to Spectrum.

"Give me a second." Spectrum said closing her eyes.

Another green flash of light occurred and a white rabbit appeared in her arms. (Faith) grabbed the rabbit away from the teenage hero and looked him over.

"How do I know that this is Spike?" She asked.

The rabbit bit her on the hand and she cursed loudly. Zarina smiled at the sight.

"I guess that's how you know." She said. ".esouh s'doolB nosaJ ot su ekaT"

They appeared in Jason Blood's house where the counterparts from the other universe and those from their own had been waiting for them. (Dawn) grabbed Spike away from (Faith).

"Are you sure we can't keep him like this?" She asked.

"Put him down." Zarina said waiting for the rabbit to be set down. ".treveR"

A white flash occurred and Spike was on the floor. He got off the floor and looked around.

"I bloody hate magic." He said.

Tara walked over to Zarina. "I've got everything set up." She said.

Spike could only stare at Tara. "Glenda, that you?" He asked.

(Dawn) tugged on Spike's coat. "Not our Tara, Spike." She said.

Tara led them into a room where a large ankh had been drawn on the floor. Zarina walked over to Xander with a smile on her face.

"Before you go, I thought I might show you a couple of my memories." She said. "Seeing as we're kinda the same, it'll be okay."

"Alright." Xander said a little uneasy.

Zarina grabbed Xander's head on the left and right sides. A smile crossed his face which made his friends wonder what he was seeing. Zarina released him and stepped away as Tara activated the spell sending them home.

* * *

Cleveland, Ohio

Standard BtVS Universe

"Com'n Boytoy, what did Zarina show you?" Faith asked.

It had been a week since they had returned to their own reality and it had been eating at them as to what the magician girl had shown him. Andrew couldn't believe that they had even went into that universe without him. They were gathered at the dinner table without the mini-Slayers about which was a rather rare event.

"You're not going to believe what I saw and I'm not forgetting it for as long as I live." He said still smiling.

"What is it, Xander?" Willow asked. "This is really mean, you know."

"Okay, I'll tell. You know Zarina spent time on Themyscira right." He said making sure they had been paying attention. "Did you know that they have communal bathhouses?"

* * *

Zarina was in her room with Rose. Her fellow Titan seemed a bit nervous.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" She asked.

"I'm sure otherwise I wouldn't have even mentioned it." Zarina replied. "Sit down."

Rose sat down on Zarina's bed. Zarina lit a few incense and the smoke began to quickly fill the room. Rose sniffed the air.

"What's the incense for?" She asked.

"It has mystical properties to it that will help you, Rose." Zarina said as she placed a hand over Rose's eye patch. ".snoicta s'rehtaf reh ot eud tsol neeb sah tahw erotseR" A glow appeared under her hand. ".dnah nwo reh ot eud tsol neeb sah tahw erotseR"

Rose screamed and pushed Zarina away from her as she ran into the nearest bathroom. She began to splash cold water on her face when she realized her eye patch had been removed. Rose looked into the mirror and gasped. She saw two eyes looking back at her. Turning around, she saw Zarina standing by the door of the bathroom smiling.

"Said it would work." Zarina said.

* * *

Travers looked over at the gorilla named Grodd. He knew what he was doing was quite risky but he didn't know what else to do. After the failure of Deathstroke to accept the contract against Zarina, every known assassin had declined. Not because they were afraid of being stopped by the magician girl and her friends, the assassins were afraid of what Deathstroke would do. He had to make certain the Cruciamentum went forward without interference even if he had to pay a great deal to make certain of it.

"Are we in agreement then, Mr. Travers?" Grodd asked. "I arrange for the young Zatara girl and her friends to be distracted why you perform this Cruciamentum on the Summers girl."

"Yes, and the price is five hundred million US dollars." Travers said.

"Good." Grodd said. "I'm glad we are in agreement."

Author's End Notes: Well, leave me a review and tell me what you think.


	11. Weakness

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Chapter Eleven

Weakness

Blue Bowman ran after the person that he just witnessed murdering a man that he had recognized as an employee of the Watcher's Council. Something about the way the murder took place didn't make any sense whatsoever. The man he was chasing had tried to make it look like a mugging gone wrong but it was obvious that it wasn't. He decided to end this chase by letting out a Canary Scream. The sonic attack hurled the perpetrator into a blue Toyota Camry. His attempt to get back up was cut short by an arrow being embedded into his shoulder that left him stuck against the car. Bowman notched a taser arrow as he approached the man. He noticed the man was staring at a leather briefcase.

"Why did you kill him?" Bowman asked.

"Like it's any of your concern, hero." He said.

The man pulled out a gun and Bowman let the arrow fly stunning the man when it struck him. He heard sirens and a few cars stopped. It was fortunate that he recognized who one of the officers was. She was a petite redhead with shoulder length hair named Detective Molly Sheridan who was in her early thirties. He was reminded of Willow when he first met her but Sheridan's personality made him think of a female Dirty Harry.

"Bowman, what happened?" She asked.

There was something else about her that he liked. Most cops seemed to not like it when superheroes were present in their city. Commissioner James Gordon of Gotham City was one example of a police officer who realized the truth that several other police officers tried to delude themselves with. The truth was that there were several criminals who could not be brought in by ordinary means. These criminals could only be brought in by those who would wear a mask in order to fight them. Detective Molly Sheridan was cut from the exact same cloth as Commissioner Gordon. She didn't care how a criminal was brought down. It didn't matter if the criminal was brought down by another officer or a costumed hero. All that mattered to her was that the criminal was brought down.

"I was too late to save the man he murdered about a block away." Bowman informed her.

"I'll have the arrow removed and him transported for questioning." Sheridan said before noticing the leather briefcase. She walked over to it. "I'm guessing he stole this from the victim."

"Don't touch it." He exclaimed. "The victim worked for an organization that was very steeped in the supernatural. He may have hexed the briefcase to prevent its contents from falling into the wrong hands."

He pulled out a pair of Nth metal lined gloves and took hold of the briefcase. Bowman turned his attention back to the Detective.

"Let's go back to your precinct." Bowman told her. "I'll call in someone I know who should be able to safely open it."

"My car is this way." She replied.

When they arrived at the precinct, Bowman kept the briefcase with him as they walked into one of the conference rooms that were available. He set the briefcase down on the table and pulled out his communicator. She didn't pay any attention to whom he was calling as it wasn't her concern. A bright flash of light signaled the arrival of the person that Blue Bowman had called. She turned to find someone that she did recognize.

"Hello Miss Zatara, I'm Detective Molly Sheridan." Sheridan said introducing herself.

"That's sounds familiar." Zarina replied. "Do you have a niece named Amanda?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Sheridan asked.

"Fan mail. She speaks quite highly of you as her own personal hero." Zarina answered reaching into her hat to pull out a glossy photo and a black sharpie. She autographed the glossy and handed it to Detective Sheridan. "Can you give this to her for me? Her letter was really sweet."

"Thank you but I need to know if the case is booby trapped or not." Sheridan said taking the picture. 'My niece is going to freak when she sees this.' She thought.

Zarina let her fingers glide over the briefcase when the briefcase popped open on its own. Bowman smirked at her.

"Tell me you didn't do that." He said.

"I didn't. He must have spelled it to open for me in case of his death." Zarina said opening the briefcase fully. "I'm not detecting any hexes or curses of any kind."

Sheridan gazed over the contents of the briefcase and started to reach out to pick up one of the items when Blue Bowman grabbed her arm.

"No offense, Molly, but the first rule in dealing with magic is to look and not touch." He explained. "You never know what something might do if you touch it."

"That object's harmless, Detective." Zarina replied. "It's a magical version of a video camera. .yalP"

A small holographic image of the man who the briefcase had belonged to flashed up on the crystal. He seemed to be quite stressed by the sound of his voice.

"My name is Benjamin Martin. Miss Zatara, if you are watching this now then I have been murdered. That is not as important as to why I have been murdered. Quentin Travers, the current chairman of the Watcher's Council, is intent on making certain that you can not interfere with Miss Summers' Cruciamentum. He had first sent George Wyndham-Price to secure the services of one Deathstroke the Terminator. His bodyguards were found shot in the head. Mr. Wyndham-Price's horribly beaten corpse was found in an alleyway some distance away. I personally believe that Deathstroke may have been toying with the man before he killed him. Further attempts at hiring assassins has failed since the entirety of the Order of Teraka has been destroyed after Deathstroke had found out they had accepted a contract against you." The recording said. "The reason I have chosen to betray the council and alert you though is that I fear what I'm about to reveal to you will undoubtedly destroy the council but save hundreds of lives in the process. Travers has contracted with the gorilla known as Grodd to distract you in order for the tradition to take place without incident. I fear what the beast may do."

The recording ended and Zarina put the crystal back into the briefcase. She looked over at the detective.

"Can you have this sent to the Justice League?" Zarina asked as her communicator started to buzz. She opened it to see Slayer.

"I hate to cut your little trip to help your old bud short but I got someone running around town blasting every freaking thing calling himself The Key." Slayer exclaimed.

"I'll be right there." Zarina said glancing over at Blue Bowman. "Care to tag along?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Bowman replied.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The Key continued his assault blasting at the two female heroes who had been trying to stop him. Slayer hurled a stun bola which wrapped itself around The Key's weapon. Electricity crackled from the bola forcing the super villain to hurl his weapon away before it could explode. Spectrum blasted him into a wall knocking him out as Zarina and Blue Bowman arrived.

"It's funny." Slayer said. "You always find your keys in the last place you look."

"Bad joke." Zarina said despite beginning to laugh.

Before Slayer could reply, a cold blast of wind stuck them. It didn't hurt but they turned to see where it had come from. The villainess was clearly recognizable by her blue skin.

"Killer Frost, so not a pleasure to meet you." Zarina said. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious, girl, I'm here to beat my record." Killer Frost said. "Although, I've never wiped out an entire suburb before."

"Don't you care about the people you're going to kill?" Spectrum asked slightly horrified at the callous nature Killer Frost had.

Slayer shook her head. "She's a whack job, Spec." Slayer said. "No use trying to talk her out of it."

Killer Frost laughed at the remark. "She's right. I'm criminally insane. Want to see my note from the doctor?" She replied.

"No, but you're going to need one." Slayer said cracking her knuckles.

"Funny, you should get off a good one-liner before you die." Killer Frost exclaimed.

"You're outnumbered four to one." Bowman said notching an arrow. "It's over."

Killer Frost spread her arms out as frozen air shot away from her hands and ice robots were formed. The robots towered over them but they weren't gigantic though they were about nine feet tall. Zarina let out a breath and shook her head at the blue-clad hero.

"Rule Two, never let the enemy know what they're forgetting." She reminded him.

The ice robots charged at the quartet of heroes but they didn't get too far. Bowman fired the trick arrow at one of the robots and they watched as the arrow bounced off each of the robots before returning to him. He flipped open the top of the trick arrow to reveal what appeared to be a detonator and pushed the button. Explosions destroyed the ice robots to the bewilderment of Killer Frost. She was about to say something when a stun bola wrapped itself around the cryo-kinetic criminal and shocked her unconscious. Slayer smirked as she held up another stun bola.

"I love these things." She said.

Spectrum's eyes began to glow brightly which started Blue Bowman. He looked over at her.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Yes." Spectrum said. "I detect fear."

With that, she encapsulated herself and her friends in a green bubble as yellow beams of light blasted against the shield. They could see in the air were ten members of the Sinestro Corps. Slayer didn't feel any fear from the yellow ring wielders.

"Let's kick their asses!" She exclaimed before an old Buick was hurled at them.

They turned to see a walking behemoth of a man wearing a black and white mask with tubes running throughout his body. Zarina let out a sigh.

"Fuck, it's Bane." Zarina said.

"How bad can he be?" Slayer asked.

"He broke Batman's back." Zarina replied.

"Okay, no one messes with my favorite male superhero and gets away with it!" Slayer yelled before charging Bane.

Zarina shook her head and looked over at Spectrum. "Think you can handle the yellow rings?" She asked.

"Please, they might as well give up now." Spectrum said grinning. "It's like they're trying to use a normal 45. against Superman."

"Have fun." She replied before the girl flew off to fight the ring wielding menace.

Slayer kept leveling hard punches and kicks into Bane while dodging his attacks. She didn't find him to be the speediest opponent she had faced. Bane ripped a streetlight and swung it like a bat. He managed to strike Slayer with it but she got up from the blow rather quickly.

"You think you can defeat me!" He yelled. "I broke Batman's back!"

"And I am going to break you." Slayer said.

Slayer hurled a stun bola at Bane hoping to end the fight. The bola wrapped around his massive right arm and crackled with electricity as it tried to shock the behemoth into unconsciousness. Bane merely flexed his bicep and the bola was ripped off by the tension.

"Damn it." Slayer said checking her utility belt. She pulled out a couple of round balls. "Let's see what these do."

She hurled them at Bane and the round balls emitted some kind of gray smoke that Bane merely brushed off. Slayer shook her head.

"I gotta read that fucking manual." She said.

Blue Bowman notched a standard arrow with his bow pointed in the direction of the behemoth. He seemed a little unsure as to where on Bane to aim at.

"Aim for the tube that's connected to the back of his head. It's the main line for Bane's Venom." Zarina explained.

He lined up his shot and let the arrow fly but Bane moved at the last second allowing the arrow to miss by a hair's width. Bowman cursed himself for the missed shot but was awed by what he saw next. Slayer delivered a powerful uppercut to the goliath and a female figure appeared to sever the cable with a short sword. Bane fell to the ground as the light finally shown her clearly and he found her to be quite stunning which he realized why he was reacting like he did. The armor and weapons she had were clearly Themysciran in origin and since they appeared to be rather new; it could only mean the dark-skinned beauty was an Amazon. Zarina recognized her and ran over to her.

"Calypso, what are you doing here?" Zarina asked smiling like she was reuniting with an old friend.

"I was visited by both Athena and Artemis." Calypso explained sheathing her sword. "They told me to come here to take part in a great battle."

An explosion overhead drew their attention to the battle overhead. The Sinestros continued to fire at Spectrum who merely laughed in response. They paused in their attack unsure about what to do.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Spectrum asked. "I control every light of the Spectrum. Your attacks are meaningless against me."

Spectrum raised a hand and ten beams of light shot out of the yellow rings. From the looks on the faces of the Sinestro Corpsmen, Spectrum was draining their rings of power. They fell to the ground as their rings were drawn to her. Spectrum destroyed the rings before enveloping the Sinestro Corpsmen in green light. When the light faded, the Sinestros were gone and Spectrum went back to the ground beneath her.

"Remind me not to get you angry." Bowman said.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Cordelia let herself into Zarina's house as she had been doing every morning. She knew that Zatanna was on a mission with the Justice League so that should mean that only Zarina and Faith should be here. What she didn't expect was the shirtless hunk walking down the stairs who she did recognize but his name was not what immediately came to mind.

"Hello salty goodness." She said before catching herself.

Jonathon smiled. "Hello to you too, Cordelia." He replied. "You're probably wondering why I'm in Zarina's house without a shirt on."

Cordelia shrugged. "I guessed you had a threesome with her and Faith." She replied only to receive laughter from him. "What did I say?"

"Zarina's like a sister to me." Jonathon said laughing. "No, I stayed over last night because we were all tired after fighting The Key, Killer Frost, and Bane. Spectrum fought off like ten Sinestros which was really cool."

"Doesn't explain why you don't have a shirt on." Cordelia replied.

"Well, I was in the bathroom getting dressed when I had it explained to me that if I didn't get out of the bathroom I was running the risk of having a magician, a Slayer, an energy being, and a Themysciran warrior shoving my quiver up my ass." He said gesturing with his right thumb over at his costume.

Cordelia's eyes widened. "Oh my freaking god, you're Blue Bowman." She said. "Why'd you reveal your identity to me?"

"I figured to do it now rather than wait for you to brush against me and your powers reveal my identity, Delphi." Jonathon said showing his Titans communicator. "Cass told me the last time I was at the Tower."

"Wait, did you say a Themysciran?" She asked.

Almost on cue, Zarina, Faith, Aura and Calypso walked down the stairs. Zarina and Faith were dressed as they were dressed normally. Aura wore a red blouse and blue jeans but it was Calypso that Cordelia didn't know. She felt like she should know her. The dark skinned Themysciran smiled when she looked over at Zarina. The smile seemed to be one reserved for a true friend.

"You were right, Zarina." Calypso said. "Not all men are worthless."

Jonathon held up his hands. "Hey, I will be the first to admit that I submit to female domination." He said. "That didn't come out right, did it?"

Faith shook her head. "Nope." She said laughing.

Someone could be heard knocking on the door. Zarina looked over at the door as if she knew who it was.

"Jason, you know you don't need to knock." She said towards the door.

The door opened and Jason walked in. Jonathon shifted his position into a military-like salute and received an elbow in the ribs for his effort from Zarina.

"What?" He asked. "He's a Knight of the Round Table. That kinda deserves my respect."

"Thank you, Mr. Queen, but the reason I am here is most appalling." Jason said. "While Buffy was on patrol last night, her powers were mysteriously negated."

"Fuck, we're too late." Zarina said. "Jonathon called me to Star City where a member of the Watcher's Council had been murdered. The Watcher left a message behind stating that Travers contracted with Grodd to keep me busy."

"You don't think Giles knows about this, do you?" Cordelia asked.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out. Are Buffy and him at the library?" Zarina asked Jason who nodded. "Unless you want your identity revealed, Jonathon, I'd suggest changing."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

They teleported into the library to see Buffy was sitting down moping at the main table of the library. Giles came from out of his office.

"Is something the matter?" He asked.

"Nothing much unless you count the Watcher's Council hiring the Legion of Fucking Doom to keep us busy while B undergoes the Cruciamentum." Faith said snapping at the Watcher.

That comment got Buffy's attention as her gaze went up to Faith. "What do you mean the Legion of Doom?" She asked.

"She means that Giles's boss, Quentin Travers, has contracted with Gorilla Grodd to disrupt my ability to help you during this time." Zarina explained. "Slayer and Spectrum took down the Key when Blue Bowman and I shown up. After Killer Frost was taken down, ten Sinestro Corpsmen shown up as well as Bane."

"Clearly, you survived." Giles said as Calypso walked into view. "Kendra?"

The dark skinned Themysciran shook her head. "I believe you are mistaken." She said. "My name is Calypso."

Zarina looked inquisitively over at Giles. "Giles, what are you talking about?" She asked. "This is my friend, Calypso. We met on Themyscira."

"The Slayer that was called after Buffy died temporarily in the Master's Cavern was Kendra." Giles explained. "She was reportedly killed when the cruise ship she snuck onboard after a demon sank with reportedly all hands lost."

"That makes some sense." Calypso said. "They said they had to remove something in order to make me into a Themysciran."

"Who removed what now?" Buffy asked.

"Artemis and Athena, Buffy." Zarina said. The patron goddess of the Themyscirans as well as the hunt and the goddess of wisdom and war, respectively."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Sometime in March...

Zarina walked down the beach as she had done frequently to let off some steam after a sparring session. It had been a few months since she had came to the island and she couldn't be happier. As she walked, she noticed something strange further up the beach and ran towards it. It was a dark skinned girl that was about her age. Quickly, she began to check the girl's vital signs before administering CPR. It didn't take long before the girl took in a sharp intake of air. Weakly, the girl looked up at Zarina.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"You're on Themyscira." Zarina replied. "Can you tell me your name?"

The girl slowly shook her head. "I don't remember." She said. "I don't know who I am."

Zarina helped her up to her feet and began to help her walk to Artemis's house which was the closet place that the mysterious girl could rest and recuperate. When they reached their destination, Zarina got her some fruit.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"So, we've got three Slayers now." Buffy said. "Looks like your luck in saving Slayers is still intact."

Zarina shook her head. "Calypso isn't a Slayer, not anymore anyway." She said. "Artemis and Athena must have removed the Slayer Essence and divided it among you and Faith. They then made her into a Themysciran. A Themysciran has certain blessings given to them by goddesses such as Artemis and Athena that essentially would make them like a walking cross if they come into contact with a vampire."

"What we have to worry about is to what ends Grodd will do to make his money." Blue Bowman said.

"But hey, you're here right." Buffy said. "So, everything's cool right?"

BBBBZZZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bright white flash of light blinded the group momentarily before it faded to reveal five people with two pairs of them clearly were the opposite sex as the fifth member wore long brown robes that hid their figure. Zarina recognized the other four from the Justice League files.

"Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Dawnstar, and Wildfire." Zarina said. "What are you doing here?"

"Escorting me." The robed figure spoke up. "I told them that they weren't really needed but they insisted. So I at least insisted on those who could be helpful."

The robed figure's right hand glowed green before a stream of energy impacted against Buffy knocking her to the ground. Calypso and Slayer were about to counterattack but Zarina held up a hand.

"Don't, they're good guys." Zarina said. "Meet the Legion of Super Heroes from the thirty-first century."

"Now we know where you get your good sense from." Wildfire said looking over at the robed figure.

The robed figure walked over towards Zarina and Giles. As she approached, only a feminine mouth could be seen.

"Zarina, Giles, it's so good to see you again." She said.

"Who are you?" Giles asked.

The robed figure pulled down her hood as Buffy got back to her feet in shock.

"Dawnie?" She asked in disbelief.

Dawn smiled at her sister. She only appeared to be at least ten years older than what she did normally but her age seemed to be carried in other ways. This Dawn no longer seemed to have the spark of youth but now seemed to have the flames of wisdom instead.

"Hello Buffy, it's been a while." Dawn said.

"Aren't you risking a paradox?" Zarina asked eyeing the girl.

"Not at all, records indicate that the five of us were here." Dawn replied. "Plus, being one of the founding members of the Legion tends to give considerable clout when it comes to missions."

"What did you do to Buffy?" Zarina asked.

"Merely reactivated her Slayer powers." Dawn said. "Do not be angry with Giles, Buffy, it was Wesley's fault. Travers ordered him to do it after informing him that Deathstroke killed his father."

"Why did Slade kill Wesley's dad?" Zarina asked only to get stared at by Giles.

"You are on a bloody first name basis with the world's greatest assassin?" He said in disbelief.

"Slade's an okay kinda guy. He's got a strict set of morals and he tries to do what he believes is best for his children." Zarina said. "It may not seem sane to us but it makes sense to him."

"Enough of this." Brainiac 5 said. "We're here because Dawn said that we were needed."

"I said I was needed but you crazy kids won't let one old lady get out of the house without an escort." Dawn said with sarcasm evident in her voice.

"You carry your age well." Dawnstar said.

"Grodd is going to attack soon with an army of robots." Dawn said before looking over to Slayer. "Human sized robots and not big giant robots. He had help assembling them from another Bang Baby in Sunnydale. I'll let you find out who on your own considering you'll encounter him later."

"I'm guessing the League isn't able to show up then." Zarina said getting a nod. "Great, anything else I should know?"

"You are the one who teaches me to control my powers." Dawn replied. "It will be easier once you tell my younger self who you really are."

Buffy shook her head at the older version of her sister. "You're going to love that." She said. "You know how my sister is."

Before Zarina could respond, Dawn said. "She would not know as the spell that reunified her took out anything that didn't belong."

"What do you mean by that?" Buffy asked.

"I did not exist until a few months ago." Dawn said. "A group of monks chose to hide the Key in human form and sent it to you to protect. The best way to make certain that you would want to protect me was to make me your sister."

"Why would they send you to Buffy?" Zarina asked.

"Well, it was to protect the Key from a hellgoddess named Glorificus aka Glory." Dawn said. "Turning me into the daughter of one of the members of the JLA would have been cool as hell but it would have been to high tier to do. They didn't anticipate Zarina training me to tap into the powers of the Key. With that training, I literally erased Glory from existence after she tried to capture me."

An explosion could be heard in the parking lot and Slayer ran over to the window to look. She turned back towards the group.

"None of us are Kryptonian, are we?" She asked. "Cuz I think Metallo is blowing up cars in the parking lot."

Metallo blasted through the outer wall and stepped into the library. The kryptonite powered android seemed to smile when he looked at Zarina.

"There's a large price on your head, little gir---" Metallo began to say before an explosion struck him in the back. He turned to face his attacker. "What are you doing here? Trying to get the bounty?"

"No, I had thought that I had made it clear to the Watchers but apparently they can't follow simple instructions." Deathstroke said dropping the grenade launcher he was toting.

While he was distracted, Dawn enveloped the kryptonite powered android in a green energy field and Spectrum tore the android's power source out of his chest. The android slumped over from power loss and Zarina looked over towards Deathstroke.

"Thank you." She said.

"I currently have a vendetta against the Watchers." He said. "Thank you for the information."

"I think you proved that when you distracted Metallo. I guess Grodd really is pulling out all the stops to try to 'distract' me from Buffy's Cruciamentum." Zarina replied. "I bet the worm is in town now."

Dawn walked over and handed the man known as the world's greatest assassin a note. Deathstroke's eye could be seen reading the note before he nodded folding the note back up.

"The information will be quite useful." Deathstroke said.

"Without it, you would end up killing thirteen people to get to him." Dawn replied. "I did not want you to get tired when you finally reached him."

"Now you had to ruin my fun." Deathstroke said before leaving.

Dawn began to laugh a bit from Deathstroke's comment which drew her some bewildered looks from the other people in the room. She shrugged her shoulders.

"What?" She asked. "I haven't seen that twisted sense of humor in a few hundred years."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Grodd could not believe the round of horrible luck he was having. It should have been quite easy but he was beginning to realize that these children he had been paid to distract were more trouble than they were worth. The villains he had paid to attack the small town were being defeated left and right though he now had an idea about some of the other powers the group possessed and he had to admit that he was impressed. The Zatara girl was just as powerful as her mother but in a way, more imaginative. Slayer seemed be reminding him of a faster and stronger version of Batman but without the training to suit it. If Slayer had gotten trained by either Batman or Richard Dragon, he would never want to encounter the girl again. Blue Bowman was just as annoying with a bow as his father and as bad on the eardrums like his mother. Spectrum frightened him over the level of control she had over her powers. She couldn't be fought using any similar energies and that left few options on how to deal with her. He was glad that he was merely being paid to distract them. He did not relish the idea of having to try to destroy them.

"Grodd, the robots are complete." The teenage human he had found in the town said.

The teenager, Warren Mears, had developed an unusual metagene that allowed him to construct whatever he might imagine if he had the right materials. Even if this endeavor failed, taking the boy under his wing, so to speak, would more than make up for the effort. The human's lack of morals helped with the ideas that could be made into reality.

"Send them." Grodd said.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The robots were yellow with triangular shaped legs and hands that had three barrels in each of the hands. An army of these metallic foes flew into the town and opened fire on anything that moved. Spectrum flew into the air enraged with her anger being shown in the red energy blasts she fired at the assault robots. Blue Bowman fired explosive arrows at the robots as well as Zarina, Slayer, and Calypso got people to safety. When Wildfire, Dawnstar, and Dawn joined the battle, it was over swiftly. Dawn called the Legionnaires over to her.

"We're going back." She said to them.

"But, they still need our help." Wildfire replied.

"This is their moment, Drake." Dawn said to the encased hero. "The battles they have been having leading up to Grodd will thrust them into the spotlight."

The Legionnaires nodded and they disappeared in a flash of light. Zarina had listened to the conversation and let out a breath.

Just have to give me that info, huh. She thought to herself. This shouldn't be too bad. I still have to train you.

She walked over to her group who seemed a bit curious as to where the Legionnaires were. Zarina raised her hands.

"Old Dawn decided they needed to return to their own time and left." Zarina explained. "I kinda eavesdropped on their conversation."

"Girls, I think we have bigger problems at the moment." Blue Bowman said pointing down the street to see Gorilla Grodd standing there. "So, ran out of bananas?"

Grodd let out an annoyed breath. "Do you honestly believe you are not the first of you hairless apes that made that joke?" He asked.

Blue Bowman smiled. "No, but it's still funny." He said as he fired an arrow at Grodd.

Making no effort to dodge, the arrow struck Grodd in the forehead resulting in a large explosion which stunned the quintet of superheroes. The four female heroes glared at Blue Bowman who backed up a bit from them.

"What in the hell did you hit him with?!" Zarina yelled.

While Zarina, Slayer, and Spectrum were berating Blue Bowman. Calypso walked over where Grodd's body lay and picked up one of his severed arms. She walked back over to the cringing man and thrust the arms into his arms.

"Blue Bowman did not kill the primate." She said. "It was another robot."

Blue Bowman held up the arm to see wires extending out of the arm. He began to laugh and it quickly became contagious as the four women he was with began to laugh as well.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Travers had heard some commotion going on within the building that he had set up Slayer Summer's Cruciamentum and he went to investigate. He had been surprised that he hadn't seen the girl enter but he was even more surprised when his kneecaps were shot out by a large caliber weapon. Travers yelled in pain as he fell onto his stomach.

"It would be quite useless to try to call in your assault team." A gravely voice said. "I took care of them before you came in the building. Your exam has been cancelled as was your vampire."

Travers managed to flip himself over to see Deathstroke calmly walking over to him. A shiver of fear coursed through him as he quickly remembered the man's qualifications. He had not believed it was possible for anyone the entire Order of Teraka but he had been wrong before.

"What do you want?" He asked in pain.

"I intend to teach a lesson." Deathstroke said. "My lesson is to show what happens to those who try to mess with my family."

"The Watcher's Council protects the world." Travers said before another was embedded in his shoulder.

"The Council protects itself." Deathstroke said.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Zarina was nervous as she entered Dinah's office on the Watchtower. Somehow, it always felt like going to the principal's office when she was in here. She sat down at Black Canary's desk with the bleached blonde-haired woman looking back at her.

"What did I do this time?" Zarina asked.

"The Key, Killer Frost, ten members of the Sinestro Corps, Bane, Metallo, and Gorilla Grodd." Dinah said. "Quite a rogue's gallery that your group is accumulating."

"Look, Travers hired Grodd to distract me during Buffy's Cruciamentum and he used supervillains to do it." Zarina replied. "We managed to stop them, didn't we?"

"You did which is why I have a proposal." Dinah said sliding a manila folder over to her. "I think you will find this appealing."

Zarina opened the folder and nearly dropped it as she read the contents. When she finished, she closed the folder and stared at Dinah.

"Are you joking?" She asked. "Is this for real?"

"Do I look like Wally?" Dinah asked. "I'm serious about it and the proposal has already been cleared with most of the League."

"Does my mother know about this?" Zarina asked.

"She voted in favor of it." Dinah replied. "Your mother thinks you can handle the responsibility. It helped that Bruce had been the one to make the proposal in the first place."

"Damn, I didn't think Bruce didn't like most of my team." Zarina said.

"He changed his tune after one of Delphi's visions was able to stop one of the Joker's plans." Dinah replied. "He felt that you needed more assistance."

After discussing it further, Zarina returned to her home in Sunnydale to see her 'team' had gathered there. They seemed rather curious.

"What did the Blackbird have to say?" Faith asked getting a glare from Jonathon.

"It's Black Canary." Jonathon said.

"What did she have to say?" Aura asked.

"Three words that scared me." Zarina answered her.

"What three words?" Faith asked. "Want, take, have."

"Justice League Sunnydale." Zarina replied to watch the surprised reactions on her friends.

"Mom is getting a Hall Of Justice built here!" Jonathon exclaimed. "Why does she want to do that?"

Faith got on her feet. "No way in hell am I listening to another member of the spandex club unless it's Batman." She said. "I doubt he's leaving Gotham City for here."

Zarina smiled at Faith. "Faith, look at the people in this room." She said. "As of today, these are the members of Justice League Sunnydale."

Cordelia glanced over to Calypso. "So, you interested in fighting against the forces of darkness?" She asked the Themysciran.

Calypso nodded. "I had previously thought that there was only one gate to Tartarus." She said. "My duty as an Amazon says I must stay and make certain these gates remain closed."

"What about you, Jon?" Zarina asked her friend.

"Hell Z, you know you got my bow." He said.

"I guess we're all in." Zarina replied. "This could get interesting."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

It hadn't been difficult to secure this secluded warehouse from the 'native population' and it was even less difficult to fortify it both from discovery as well as attack. Warren Mears laughed at how easy it was to slip away from Grodd and make off with a plethora of various technology. It was enough to make this warehouse just as impregnable as a Hall Of Justice. He turned to look at the person who had been gathering various individuals together. He saw a black clad man with white lightning all across his uniform. That must be Killswitch. Warren thought.

A smaller girl with brown hair stood off in a corner dressed mainly in red. He didn't know what her name was yet but he had been told to run her DNA and came across something very interesting. It seemed as though a few more Thanagarians had been using Earth like an intergalactic Las Vegas. The meta-gas must have activated long dormant genes that caused her to grow wings. He knew she could fly with them and he wondered how isolated she was.

Chains rattled as the large half man half hyena tried to break his restraints. That guy was creepy. Killswitch and the boss had managed to grab him right out of Alcatraz which was too high-profile in his opinion. The only saving grace to that jailbreak was the fact that they had broke everyone else out as well which distracted the Teen Titans long enough to make the escape. The beast man didn't impress Warren much as the guy had gotten captured by the town heroes.

"Little useless Warren, how are things?" Alpha asked laughing at him. "How does it feel to be the weak link?"

"Alpha, perhaps you have forgotten your place." Discord said walking towards the group.

Alpha laughed at her. "You forget BITCH, your powers don't work on me!" He exclaimed.

Suddenly, he fell to his knees as he tried to breathe but failed to receive any oxygen. Discord walked over to him.

"You forget that while the magic that gave birth to you gives your body immunity to my powers, the air surrounding you isn't immune to them." Discord said. "Are you going to be a good puppy?"

Alpha nodded frantically and gasped when the air was restored to him. Discord walked over to her chair. Discord's costume was a tight material that looked at first like black leather but it was actually a non-magnetic variant of Nth Metal that had the feel of leather. She wore a simple red domino mask to offset the costume. Warren had enjoyed the night he fitted her for the costume. He did find her red eyes to be rather creepy.

"Why is the geek here anyway?" Killswitch asked. "He don't have any powers."

"Killswitch, have you ever heard of Lex Luthor?" Discord asked. "He is just a regular human but he is renowned as Superman's arch nemesis and do you know why?"

"No, I don't know why some regular human is the Man of Steel's number one bad guy." Killswitch said.

"Lex Luthor is one of the smartest and most imaginative people on this planet. He creates ways to destroy his enemies." Discord informed him. "Warren does have a meta ability. His power allows him to build whatever he can imagine even if he does not fully understand everything about it. He is the one who designed every bit of our equipment as well as our costumes."

"I still say he's useless." Killswitch said sparking his hands up with energy.

Before Discord could act to control her group, Warren touched a button on a band located on his right arm. Killswitch howled in pain as his power was suddenly turned against him. He collapsed to the ground gasping and Warren walked over to him. Warren delivered a swift kick to Killswitch's abdomen and let himself laugh a bit.

"Do you think I am an idiot, Killswitch?" Warren asked the groaning villain. "Do you think that after all the work I did to construct your costumes that I wouldn't put in a failsafe in case one of you chose to attack me? Discord needs my assistance so I trust her. The Hawkette over there seems to meek to attack me without provocation and Fido is still on his chains."

"Enough Warren." Discord said. "Now, I call this meeting of the Secret Society to order."

Author's End Notes: Sorry about the long delay but writer's block is a real pain in the ass. I hope everyone likes this chapter and I'll leave you to review. A special note, did anyone notice that I added a segment around the end of Chapter Nine?

PS: Does anyone else find that having Michael Shanks playing Hawkman on "Smallville" is typecasting?


	12. Rebirth

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Chapter Twelve

Rebirth

Dinah Lance-Queen, better known as the Black Canary, entered the Sunnydale High School library. The librarian was arguing with a younger man but it was clear that the man wasn't a student. She noticed that the same wall that Metallo had blasted through earlier last week had already been repaired. The town must have worked rather quickly to repair the building. The librarian noticed her presence. It would have been hard not to as she was dressed in costume.

"May I help you?" He asked.

"Actually, considering the circumstances, I am here to help you." She said walking over to the table in the center of the room and setting a newspaper on it.

The older man picked up the paper, dropped it, and began to clean his glasses saying something that sounded like Gaelic. The younger man picked up the paper and after reading it a bit, he swore in another archaic language.

"How could this bloody woman be this dense?" The younger man asked. "Does she not realize the Council will silence her?"

"Like your Council is going to do much after the UN rips them a new one for their various crimes against humanity though Travers won't be tried." Black Canary said. "I think they found a toe in Las Vegas. He must have really pissed Deathstroke off but I'm not here to talk about that. Rupert Giles, I'm here to offer you a job."

Giles was confused. "I don't understand." He said.

She looked over at Wesley. "Wesley Wyndham-Price, I presume?" She asked.

He nodded only to receive a sharp uppercut from the chairperson of the Justice League of America. Wesley collapsed to the floor as Black Canary rubbed her knuckles.

"That felt good." She said with a smirk. "So, about the job offer?"  
"Miss, uhh, Canary, I..." Giles began to say before he was interrupted.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." She said. "My name is Dinah Lance-Queen but I'm better known as the Black Canary. The job offer pertains to the Justice League team that will be stationed in Sunnydale. Since this area seems prevalent to supernatural activity, it would help to have someone who would be able to research more efficiently."

"You must be Jonathon's mother though I wonder why you would offer this to me." Giles replied. "After what recently happened, I didn't think anyone remotely associated with the Watcher's Council would be on your Christmas card list as people here say."

"True but several of the team members for Justice League Sunnydale requested you and they must have for good reasons." She said. "I would rather drop you naked on Apokolips but that's just me."

_Spiteful bitch._ Giles thought to himself. "So, who else is on this team?" He asked.

"You already know them but I'll reiterate. They are Zarina Zatara, Slayer, Blue Bowman, Calypso, Spectrum, and Delphi." Dinah said to him. "I felt it best to use them here."

Cordelia walked into the library and smiled when she saw Dinah as well as letting out a laugh when she saw Wesley laying on the floor. She lay a dagger she had been carrying on the table.

"Calypso and Slayer pulled it off of a group of demons that were extremely ugly." Cordelia said. "Zarina, with Tara's help, was able to translate the symbols on the knife as the Sisterhood of Jhe."

He was sorely tempted to clean his glasses again but he refrained from it. Giles looked back over to Cordelia.

"Where are they right now?" He asked.

Cordelia shrugged. "Zarina said something about a rescue mission." She replied.

Zarina, Slayer, Calypso, Spectrum, and Blue Bowman stood in a clearing with seven crystal pillars in front of them. Each of the crystal pillars glowed with the colors green, violet, blue, orange, indigo, red, and yellow. The pillars pulsed as the colors alternated between themselves.

"This is going to be really dangerous." Zarina said.

"Well, duh, we're ripping a hole in the space time continuum." Slayer replied. "If it was safe, everyone would do it."  
"Spectrum will stay here to maintain power on this side. Myself, Slayer, and Calypso will go through and rescue Jenny. Bowman will stay here and help guard the portal as well as making sure nothing passes between the two times." Zarina said. "We grab her and replace her with the Dopel Doll so that the Doll will complete destiny's chain of events leading up to this."

They nodded and Spectrum began to pour energy into the crystals until the crystals shot out energy towards a single point. The colliding colored lights began to glow with a white brilliance.

".emiT fo setaG ediw nepO" Zarina said.

The convergence began to pull itself apart and they could see dusk on the other side of the portal. Since it was already night, that meant they had succeeded. Stepping through, they found themselves back in the past.

"Doesn't look much different." Slayer said. "So, where to?"

".hgiH eladynnuS ot su ekaT" Zarina said teleporting the trio into an empty classroom. "Let's find Miss Calender."

Zarina led the way to Miss Calender's computer classroom and was happy to see the raven haired teacher of gypsy descent was there. She knocked on the door to get her attention. Jenny looked over at her a bit confused.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" She asked getting a small laugh from Zarina in response. "What's so funny?"

"I'll explain later." Zarina said. "My name is Zarina Zatara."

"Related to Zatanna Zatara by any chance?" Jenny asked receiving a nod in response as Slayer and Calypso walked in. Jenny recognized Calypso. "Kendra, everyone thinks you're dead."

Calypso smiled. "Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." She said. "I am Calypso."

"We have to tell Giles about this." Jenny said before being stopped by a thought she was having. "Why are you here?"

Zarina frowned. "You may want to sit down." She said. "Calypso, get the door."

Calypso closed the classroom door as Jenny sat down at her desk chair. Zarina looked down at the floor before turning her gaze back on Jenny.

"Calypso, Slayer, and I are from the future." Zarina said. "About eight or nine months to be exact, I think."  
"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Jenny asked quickly realizing the truth.

"Yes and no, you are 'destined' to die but you aren't going to." Zarina said taking her top hat off of her head and removing what looked like a small white doll.

Zarina put the doll on the floor and muttered a spell under her breath. The doll grew in height as it began to transform. When the transformation was complete, a perfect replica of Jenny stood in the room. Jenny got out of her chair and walked over to it.

"This is amazing." She said. "Your work?"

"I visited your grave and found my magical signature within it..." Zarina began to say as Jenny's eyes widened.

"A pre-destination paradox, is that what this is about?" Jenny asked. "Basically, you had to travel back and bring me to the future. But, how will this thing act like me?"

"Touch its forehead." Zarina said. "It will automatically program itself to act like you enough to fool the Scooby Gang. I even ran it past Drusilla who couldn't tell a difference."

The mention of Drusilla made her jump back from it a bit. "What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Drusilla will end up killing you but she ends up getting a soul from Madame Xandu." Zarina explained. "She's helps us in our time."

Jenny reached out and touched the doll's forehead feeling a mild electrical shock from the doll. The doll's eyes began to blink rapidly and Jenny looked over to Zarina.

"What happens now?" She asked.

"Now, we take you to our time. The doll won't take long to complete the program." Zarina said. ".latrop eht ot su ekaT"

Zarina, Jenny, Calypso, and Slayer teleported to the portal and stepped through it. Blue Bowman tackled them to the ground.

"What the hell, Bowman?!" Slayer exclaimed.

"Sorry, blue android showed up and attacked." He replied. "Spectrum is fighting him right now."

Spectrum glanced over to them taking her attention away from the android. She smiled and raised her right hand bringing the still charged crystalline pillars into the air. With a flick of her wrists, the pillars were hurled like missiles into the android's chest. Spectrum clenched her fists and the pillars exploded in a brilliant flash of white light. When the dust settled, the android laid on the ground as if it was in shock. Spectrum flew back over to the group.  
"Let's get out of here." She said. "I don't want to try to fight something that took an explosion of white light and is still around while Ms. Calender is in proximity."

Spectrum used her powers and teleported the group to Zarina's house. Slayer pulled off her mask and looked over at Zarina.

"I'm going to jump into the shower." Faith said. "Maybe you should tell Lady J what's up."

Faith ran up the stairs as Jenny sat on the couch. Spectrum transformed her costume back into the red halter top and skirt she had been wearing earlier and Jenny was surprised when she recognized who the girl was.

"What's going on here?" Jenny asked.

"Do you remember the last Halloween you experienced Jenny?" Zarina asked.

"Of course, Giles' old friend decided to enchant the costumes in his shop. We lost Xander that night." Jenny said. "Everyone was devastated."

"Xander wore a magician's costume that night." Zarina stated which caused Jenny to jump to her feet.

"How in the hell do you know that?!" She asked angrily. "I've never met you before until now."

"Jenny, I am what is left after Rayne did his spell. Xander's costume came complete with a top hat wore by my mother, Zatanna Zatara. Rayne stole the top hat from one of her shows. When he did his spell, he accidentally tapped into True Chaos rather than Janus' power. The spell ended up copying Zatanna's soul and left Xander's body stuck as you see me now. The copied soul and Xander's soul fused together leaving me." Zarina explained. "I came back because Doctor Fate told me the situation was getting worse here."

Jenny smiled and sat back down. She did have a sad look on her face as the smile seemed a bit faked.

"How did Rupert and the others take the news?" She asked.

"Buffy, Giles, and Ms. Summers found out first. Everyone else found out when we confronted Buffy about Angel being alive because apparently she had killed him and she blabbed my secret to everyone." Zarina said. "Willow then decided to try to separate the Xander part of me with a spell. She almost killed me. Doctor Fate bound her powers and left her in the tutelage of our high school principal."

Jenny glared at her. "Snyder knows magic?" She asked in confusion.

Zarina shook her head. "No, Quark is dead. Our principal is a really great guy by the name of Jason Blood. He knows his magic, trust me." Zarina replied.

"England is not going to take this well." Jenny said with a laugh.

The azure android walked down the streets slightly perplexed. He had woken up from the conflict he had been involved in as his systems began to reboot from the damage he had sustained. Portions of his memory banks had been erased because of the unusual energy used against him. He heard a scream and his databanks registered the sound as that of distress. His creator had built him based upon another android called Red Tornado but with significant modifications so he flew towards the sound of distress. Upon reaching the location, he detected a small human boy no more than seven years old being pursued by three adult humans. A more detailed scan confused him. The three adult humans had no pulse nor was their body temperature above the ambient temperature of the air. He flew over and landed between the three anomalies and the child.

"Statement: step away from the child." He said standing in a fighting stance.

The three anomalies laughed. One of them approached him.

"What are you suppose to do about it, Tin Man?" He asked before his face distorted.

"Statement: I will do this." The android replied.

The android's arms twirled rapidly until tornado force winds ripped into the three anomalies. It didn't take long for the winds to reduce the three anomalies into dust and the android turned his attention to the child.

"Query: where do you live?" He asked.

"112 Oak Street." The boy replied.

The android nodded and picked up the child. He flew into the air and landed at the specified address. Releasing the boy, he watched as a female who seemed to be the boy's mother rush out to hug him. The android detected a strange sensation that coursed through him. He classified the feeling as satisfaction. The mother looked over to him.

"Thank you." She said.

"Statement: you are welcome." He said. "Statement: I must leave now and gather more data on the anomalies in this settlement."

He took to the air hearing the boy say good-bye to him. The android wondered where it would get the necessary information.

Giles looked up to see Zarina enter the library. He was relieved when he saw the young magician smile towards Willow. It told him that the two girls' friendship was beginning to mend itself. Zarina turned to look at Giles.

"Giles, the rescue mission was a success." Zarina said.

"That's good." He replied. "Who did you rescue by the way?"

Jenny walked into the library to the astonishment of Giles and Willow. She smiled at the English librarian.

"Hello, England." She said. "It's been awhile."

Giles dropped the book he had been holding and ran over to the raven haired woman wrapping his arms around her tightly. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"How is this possible?" Willow asked.

"Pre-destination paradox." Zarina said. "I visited her grave and found my magical signature within it which meant I would have had to have been here but I wasn't."

"So you went back in time and somehow switched her out with whatever got killed by Drusilla." Willow said filling in the obvious blanks.

"Exactly." Zarina replied. "I doubt anyone is going to complain."

The library doors opened and the azure android strolled into the library. Zarina put herself between the android and the others.

"What do you want?" She asked it.

"Declaration: I require information about the anomalies that exist in this settlement. Statement: these creatures should not exist." The android said.

"Zarina, what's with the robot?" Willow asked.

"Giles, could you help our mechanical 'friend'?" Zarina asked. "I need to talk with someone."

Zarina left the room after seeing Giles gesture the android over to a bookshelf. She was glad she knew remembered her teammates schedules. Walking into the history class that Aura had, Zarina noticed the look of relief on the girl's face.  
"Miss Blonsky, Mr. Giles sent me to get Aura." Zarina said.

Once they left the classroom, Aura turned to talk to Zarina.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked.

"Remember the android from last night, it's in the library." Zarina replied. "I think you may have given the Tin Man his heart."

Aura froze as if she was remembering something. "White light." She said.

"Excuse me." Zarina said. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Green light of willpower, yellow light of fear, violet light of love, blue light of hope, indigo light of compassion, orange light of avarice, and the red light of rage. When you combine those lights together, you get the white light of creation. Essentially, it is divine power." Aura explained. "When I overloaded the crystal pillars we used to rescue Ms. Calender, the white light from the explosion might have created a soul for him. I can't create white light often. It tires me out."

They went to the library to see the android sitting at a table reading an old leather bound book. Jenny seemed to be amused and Giles seemed a bit pleased.

"England's training a Robo-Watcher." Jenny said with a laugh.

"Hello again, I would like to take you somewhere we can repair the damage you sustained." Zarina said to the android.

"Statement: that would be acceptable." The android said.

"I'll see you later, Aura." Zarina said. ".rewothctaW eht ot em dna doirdna eht ekaT"

Zarina and the android teleported up to the Watchtower. Mister Terrific seemed a bit surprised to see them.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Damaged android; think you can get Reddy up here?" Zarina asked.

"You got it." Mr. Terrific said.

Harmony walked down the halls towards Warren. She didn't like meeting publicly like this but after what she managed to witness while she spied on Zarina was forcing her hand. Warren was talking to his friend, Andrew, as she approached.

"We need to talk." She said to Warren before stamping a foot on the floor. "Now!"

"Look, Andrew, looks like Harmony needs me to tutor her some more." Warren said lying to his friend. "I got to go."

"Sure, we still on for the Star Trek movie marathon next week?" Andrew asked.

"You bet." Warren said. "Later."

Once Andrew was clearly out of earshot, Harmony turned her attention back to Warren. He seemed a bit alarmed by her presence but he tried not to show it.

"Why is that android that you built to kill the local heroes is acting like it's their pal?" She asked.

Warren shook his head. "I don't know." He replied. "It didn't return last night."

She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up against the wall. The act did betray a physical strength that her figure didn't seem to possess but she didn't care. The first reason was that they were alone for the moment in the hallway. The second and final reason was that it instilled a bit of fear into Warren. Fear was a very good motivator.

"Apparently, it switched sides." Harmony said. "I want to know why. NOW!"

She chucked him to the floor where he slid a couple of feet before stopping. He got up off the floor and glared at her.

"I expect results." She said before walking away.

The azure android lay on a table as a bar emitting a green light passed over him. A red android better known as Red Tornado worked on a console typing in commands as data flashed across the screen. The smile on his face seemed a bit creepy to Zarina.

"What is it, Reddy?" Zarina asked.

"It appears that whomever built your friend here went into a great deal of detail in his creation." Red Tornado said. "To paraphrase a rather famous android, 'he is fully functional.'"

A surprised look came over Zarina's face as the words sunk in before she let out a laugh. She put a hand on Reddy's shoulder.

"I wouldn't let that little bit of info get out otherwise he might get really popular." She said.

"Are you kidding?" Red Tornado asked. "I haven't had any luck designing anything similar for myself. I'm stealing the design."

Zarina brought a hand to her forehead and shook her head violently.

"I so did not need to hear that." She said. "Is the damage bad?"

"Nothing that can not be repaired." Red Tornado said. "He should be ready in about an hour."

Zarina walked over to the android. He looked over at her as if inquisitive about his condition.

"Red Tornado said you're going to be okay." Zarina said. "Have you thought about a name yet?"

"Declaration: I do not have an iota of knowledge of what would be a good name. Statement: A name would mean I know what it means to be human." The android said.

"What about Iota for a name?" Zarina asked. "You said it yourself. You do not have an iota of knowledge of what it means to be human or what would be a good name. Iota fits you."

"I am Iota." The newly christened android said. "I believe I have a good human name for myself."

Iota's appearance shifted into a human male with brown hair. He didn't seem to have modesty yet and Zarina turned her eyes away from his well chiseled physique. She could hear Red Tornado tapping in a few commands into the console he was working at.

"You can turn around now." Red Tornado said.

"You sure, Reddy." She replied. "I don't want you to have suddenly developed Wally's sense of humor or I'm hexing you into next Tuesday."

She turned around to see Iota dressed in brown leather dress shoes, tan slacks, and a gray long sleeved shirt. Zarina looked over at Red Tornado.

"Your doing?" She asked.

"Yes, I downloaded suitable male garment files as well as a few files to fix his grammar." Red Tornado said.

"Yes, I will no longer say what type of sentence I am using when I speak." Iota said. "Thank you, Reddy."  
"No problem." Red Tornado said. "You said you came up with a human name as well."

"Yes, I believe the name Iolaus Tanner will be sufficient." Iota said. "Is the name sufficient?"

"It's a good name, Iolaus." Zarina said. "What about you, John?"

"It fits plus it utilizes the first two letters of your first and last name." Red Tornado replied. "Those are excellent holographic emitters."

"Thank you. My creator based them on the show, Star Trek." Iota replied. "I should feel like a normal human."

Zarina felt her way down Iolaus's right arm and was surprised to find that it felt real to the touch. She lifted up her arm away from the android.

"It feels quite real." Zarina said. "I'm going to get something to eat but I'll come back to get you when you're finished."

"Okay." Iota replied.

As soon as she could, Discord arrived at the secret headquarters of the Secret Society of Sunnydale. She wasn't thrilled by the fact that the supposedly unstoppable android was not only stopped but had apparently switched sides. Discord knew she should have listened to Hawkette about using that damned thing. Hawkette, who Discord had failed to get her real name not that she actually cared about it, had mentioned that it was too cliched for robots to rebel against their original programming. Killswitch had grumbled that he lost twenty bucks in a bet with Hawkette.

"I love what you did with just one warehouse." An unknown female voice said.

"Who's there?!" Discord shouted.

The female voice laughed and a figure stepped out of the shadows. She was dressed in purple robes that had a strange gold trim. Pulling back her hood, her face was revealed and Discord recognized her.

"Amy Madison, I am surprised." Discord said. "What do you want?"

"First, the name isn't accurate. My name is Amelia Faust." Amelia said introducing herself. "I'm here to prove myself against my equal."

"Faust, I believe I've heard that name before. So, you're Felix Faust's daughter." Discord replied filing the information away for later. "Who is your equal?"  
"Before I knew who my father was, I had thought it would have been Willow but my father came and took me away from here. He used very complex magic to give me the training I need in a very short amount of time." Amelia explained. "The only person about my age with similar skills has a rather alliterative name."

"Zarina Zatara." Discord said when she realized who Amelia was referring to. "Why her?"

"To truly be great, you have to defeat someone who is your equal. It's classic and a universal truth. This is why Superman and Lex Luthor battle, why Batman and Joker will battle, and why the Green Lantern Corps will always battle the Sinestro Corps. It is fate." Amelia replied. "Battles between equals forever define them."

"Good, I needed some magical assistance." Discord said before looking around.

Amelia used her magic to shove Discord across the room. "I'm not here to assist your play group." She replied. "I'm here to test myself."

"And what if you fail?" Discord asked with a smile as a plan was forming in her head.

"I won't." Amelia replied with a scowl.

"But if you do, you will work for me." Discord told her. "I'll even have my Society members assist in an escape if Zarina thwarts you. You can't beat her from prison."

Thinking a moment, Amelia answered. "Deal."

Amelia teleported out of the warehouse in a puff of green smoke as her Society walked towards Discord. Killswitch seemed a bit agitated.

"Why are you betting on that Zatara bitch is going to kick her ass?" Killswitch asked. "She seems pretty damned impressive."

"Her father taught her everything she knows and how many times has the League beaten him?" Discord asked replying to his question. "I am going to let the League know that she's here."

"How in the world are you going to do that?" Hawkette asked. "You'll give yourself away."

"I can be quite discreet." Discord said with a smile.

Buffy walked into the library and was visibly shocked as she saw another person she thought had been dead standing in the library. Giles was talking to his old girlfriend as in the same old girlfriend who she was sure had been killed by Drusilla in this very same library last year. Her watcher looked back over to her.

"What the hell?" She asked. "Zarina happened, didn't she?"

"You're right." Giles replied.

"Zarina and her friends rescued me from the past and replaced me with a magical substitute that died in my place." Jenny explained to the blonde Slayer. "It was a pre-destination paradox."

"A pre-destiny pair a ducks?" Buffy asked not understanding what she had just heard.

"Don't try to understand time travel, Buffy." Giles said. "I doubt anyone can."

"So, you going to be the computers teacher again because they've had such a long string of substitutes who don't seem to know what they're doing and then become vamp food or they wise up and run away from town." Buffy said to Jenny.

"Think I can get my old job back, Rupert?" She asked her former boyfriend.

"You would have to talk to Principal Blood about that." Giles replied. "He's rather fair and should give you your job back."

"I guess I should go see him." Jenny said. "I'll see you later, England."

Jenny got out of her chair and walked out of the library giving Buffy a wave goodbye . Buffy walked over to the librarian.

"Why didn't Zarina tell us she was going to do this?" She asked.

"I don't know but I assume that I'll find out later." Giles said. "The chairwoman of the Justice League of America came to see me with a job offer."

Buffy smiled. "I don't see you wearing tights, cape, and cowl." She said with a laugh.

"As Black Canary explained it, it will be a supportive role much like what I did as a Watcher." Giles explained. "With the Watcher's Council all but finished because of Travers' stupidity, I was rather lucky to get the work."

"Why do you say you were lucky?" Buffy asked.

"To quote Black Canary when she talked to me earlier, 'I would rather drop you naked on Apokolips but that's just me.'" He replied.

"Spiteful bitch." Buffy replied which caused Giles to laugh. "What's so funny?"  
"My thoughts exactly." Giles said.

Jenny entered the office of Principal Jason Blood and began to feel a rather ominous feeling from the room. Jason looked over at her.

"I heard you were dead." He said casually as if it was just a rumor he had heard. "I see Zarina was able to perform what she said she was setting out to do."

"She told you what she was planning but not any of her friends here." She replied a bit puzzled. "I don't understand."

"When Zarina was first I guess one might say born, I became something of a mentor for her along with a few others in the League." Jason informed her.

"You're in the Justice League?" She asked. "So, a principal by day and a superhero by night, that's an odd combination."

"I am a magic user that has been called upon by the Justice League when they needed my aid." Jason said sliding a few forms across his desk. "Oracle has already brought you back into the world of the living, Ms. Calender, and as you are not dead; you can start back whenever you're ready."

"Thank you." Jenny replied. "There is something I have to ask you about."

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"Your lessons with Willow; why wasn't someone teaching her already?" Jenny asked. "I assumed that Rupert may have taught her after my 'death' but I see that wasn't the case."

"According to Willow and Zarina, Willow is mainly self-taught which is fraught with danger. Willow tended to experiment too much with any spell she got her hands on. She had the telltale signs of a magic addict if she had been allowed to continue on the path she had been on. To be honest, I was among those who thought Miss Rosenberg should be spending the rest of her life in the Shadowcrest prison but Zarina asked Doctor Fate for leniency. Doctor Fate then requested that I teach her." Jason informed her. "Her magic is bound while she is not participating in my lessons."

Jenny was clearly angry over this but Jason was wondering what she was exactly angry about but she wasn't happy. She glared at the former knight.

"You mean to tell me that no one bothered to train her!" She exclaimed before beginning to curse in a tongue that Jason was surprised that he didn't recognize. When she quit cursing, she said. "At least you're picking up the slack."

"Zarina had thought about training her but realized that the magic she knew was incompatible with the way Willow was already performing." Jason replied. "She asked around about anyone interested in training her. She didn't ask me but I came to examine Miss Rosenberg from a distance and the position of principal gave me a good opportunity to do so."

"Mr. Blood, what can you tell me about the spell that Willow did to Zarina?" Jenny asked. "I haven't been getting any clear answers from anyone."

"Willow received the spell from Felix Faust and believed that it would separate her friend Xander from Zarina. What it actually did was split Zarina into several aspects of her personality that had to be searched out and found." Jason explained. "If it had not been for Drusilla, Zarina would have died because of Willow's spell."

"So, Drusilla's on 'our' side now?" She asked.

"To be perfectly honest, Drusilla has made the point very clear to me that she was on Zarina's side as that is where her loyalty truly lies. Though we are dating, she cares for Zarina in a way I could only describe as a bond an older sister may share." Jason replied. "Drusilla went to Madam Xandu, who happens to be Zarina's godmother, to regain her soul. The spell that Madam Xandu used was unlike the curse that your clan used to curse Angelus. Her spell won't break if she experiences a moment of pure happiness and allows for her to gain redemption for what she had done as a vampire. As she gets closer and closer to redemption, the weaknesses inherent in her demonic vampiric nature will weaken until she becomes human once again."

"I guess I should be going then." Jenny said. "I have to get ready for classes tomorrow."

Before she left the office, Jason told her. "Do not become too attached to your job here. Drusilla said that this school will not survive graduation."

Zarina teleported herself and Iolaus back into the library to the surprise of Buffy and Giles. Iolaus smiled over to them.

"Who's your friend?" Buffy asked.

Before Zarina could answer, Giles said. "He's my nephew."

"Iolaus Tanner, a pleasure to meet you." Iolaus said to Buffy with a British accent to his voice.  
Zarina smiled though not for the reason Buffy might have been thinking of . She was genuinely surprised that Giles had created a spur of the moment but she was willing to run with it if everyone else was going to run with it.

"Giles, I didn't know you had family." Buffy said.

"My sister lives in Wales and Iolaus thought to come visit me." Giles replied as Willow walked into the room.

"Hey Zarina, where's the android?" Willow asked.

Buffy looked around the library. "What android?" She asked. "What are you talking about Willow?"

Zarina sighed and looked over at Iolaus. "You might want to drop the disguise, Iota." She said to the android.

The holographic form of Iolaus Tanner faded from sight and was replaced with the android, Iota. Iota looked over at Buffy.

"It is good to meet you." Iota said. "My creator has given me detailed files on you."

"Who's your creator?" Buffy asked. "Why does he have files on me?"

"I do not know. Portions of my systems were damaged in battle against Spectrum." Iota explained.

Buffy's eyes widened and she looked at Zarina. "If Spectrum fought Robby the Robot over here," she said. "why isn't he scrap metal?"

"Spectrum accidentally gave him a soul when she fought him." Zarina explained.

"How in the hell do you accidentally give anything a soul?!" Buffy asked.

"She combined the energies she was using which created the white light of creation." Zarina replied.

Iota shifted into his Iolaus disguise as the library doors opened and Cordelia walked into the library over to Zarina. She seemed relieved that Zarina was here.

"Is something wrong?" Zarina asked.

"I was standing by the trophy case when someone brushed against me and I had a vision. It looked like that girl, Amy, but she was wearing these weird robes with this gold border to them." Cordelia said.  
"Damn, sounds like she was trained by Faust." Zarina replied.

"Isn't Faust the same person that gave Willow the spell she used on you?" Giles asked.

Zarina nodded. "It seems that that was the real reason he gave the spell to Willow was to distract everyone while he grabbed Amy but for what purpose I'm not sure." She said.

Willow looked over at Zarina. "Have you ever noticed that Amy doesn't look anything like her father?" She asked.

"I always thought she looked like her mom." Zarina replied.

"Is there a picture of this Faust guy we can look at?" Willow asked. "Maybe Faust is really Amy's dad."

Zarina shivered a bit from the thought. "It's a good thing that most supervillains don't have kids." She said. "Could you imagine the Joker at a Parent-Teacher conference?"

This got a chuckle out of most of the people there but Iolaus didn't seem to quite understand the joke. Cordelia seemed a bit puzzled but she gave him her patented thousand-watt smile.

"HI, I'm Cordelia Chase." She said.

"Iolaus Tanner." Iolaus replied extending a hand.

Cordelia shook his hand and shook her head. "You can drop the disguise now." She said.

Iolaus shook his head. "I would prefer to retain my disguise for the time being, Cordelia." He said. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Chase."

Iolaus kissed her hand before releasing it and stepping back a little. Strangely, it seemed as though Cordelia was touched by the gesture.

"Figures the only romantic male on Earth is a robot." Willow said.

"You're still better at it than most guys are." Cordelia informed the android.

"Thank you." Iolaus replied.

Later that night, Zarina was walking through a graveyard when a fireball erupted from out of no where that flew in her direction. She threw herself to the ground as she barely was able to dodge the fireball. A tree happened to be the unfortunate victim of her dodge and Zarina could hear a small laugh coming from someone walking towards her.

"I should have known it wouldn't be that easy." Amelia said.

"What are you up to Amy?" Zarina asked standing up off the ground.

"My name isn't Amy. My name is Amelia Faust and I'm testing myself against my rival." Amelia replied.

"Funny, never saw you as mine." Zarina said.

"I'm a Faust and you're a Zatara." Amelia said explaining her position. "We're born rivals. _Ignis!_"

Amelia let loose another magical fireball that Zarina deflected with practiced ease. The child of Felix Faust didn't seem pleased.

_"Goddess Hecate, work thy will. Make the unclean thing..."_ Amelia began to say.

"!xeh reh odnU" Zarina exclaimed quickly with a counter-spell.

The counter-spell hit Amelia like a Louisville Slugger to the chest sending the girl to the ground. Amelia forced herself up and felt a sharp pain in her left arm as she realized the limb had been broken. She glared daggers at the magician.

"!dnuorg eht ot reh maR" Zarina exclaimed hurtling her foe to the ground. "Give up, Amelia. You don't stand a chance. Faust may have taught you a few tricks but he hasn't taught you everything he knows."

"My father has taught me a great deal and not all of them are mere parlor tricks." Amelia replied making an obvious verbal stab at Zarina's mother.

"I know everything my mother knows and I have been taught by Doctor Fate and Jason Blood." Zarina said. "You are the daughter of a worthless bastard who couldn't pull a rabbit out of a top hat without the rabbit, a flashlight, a top hat, and directions."

Amelia was enraged by Zarina's words. _How dare that Zatara bitch say things like that about my father?_ She thought to herself.

"At least my mother doesn't parade---" Amelia tried to respond only to get a swift kick in the mouth for what she was about to say.

"Sorry," Zarina said with a smile. "were you about to say something about my mother parading on stage in revealing clothing? At least my mother never bodyjacked me just so she could relive her youth."  
Amelia wiped the blood away from her mouth and then responded in a way her father wouldn't really approve of. She lashed out with her feet knocking Zarina to the ground. Amelia tried to kick out at Zarina but her foot was caught by the raven haired magician who gave it a violent twist. She screamed in pain when she felt her ankle shatter. Zarina got up and a smile crept across her face.

"Did I forget to mention the few months I spent on Themyscira?" Zarina asked rhetorically. "You can't exactly spend a few months there without learning a few moves, you know."

_Damn it!_ Amelia yelled at herself. _I can't believe I was beaten this easily._

"Surrender." Zarina ordered her.

"No! _PORTUS!_" Amelia shouted teleporting out of the graveyard.

Zarina looked down at the ground that Amelia had occupied only seconds ago. She shook her head as an errant thought crossed her mind.

"I never thought that I would be forced to fight a friend from my previous life." Zarina said. "I'm sorry, Amy. But you made your choice and I had to make mine."

Amelia reappeared in the headquarters of the Secret Society of Sunnydale. She limped a couple of steps but she was quickly surprised when Warren appeared to help her over to something he referred to as a medical bay. She didn't pay any attention as Warren worked his machines over her as the young genius healed her. However, she was aware that she was being watched.

"So, I see you'll be working with us after all." Discord said from behind her.

Amelia didn't bother to look at her. She knew that she would keep her word. Warren did look at Discord.

"Her injuries won't be difficult to repair. Unfortunately, my android somehow disabled the safeguards I had placed to prevent something like this from happening." Warren explained.

"Alpha, Hawkette, and Killswitch will either retrieve him intact or in pieces." Discord said. "I believe you have something I can use as a gift for Mayor Wilkins."

From within her robe, Amelia pulled out a small black box and handed it to Discord who smiled as though she was appreciative. Discord walked away from them and Amelia shook her head which Warren noticed.

"Don't beat yourself over this." Warren said. "I'm not even worried about my android. With the way I built it, I doubt the three of them could bring it in even in pieces."

"I'm not beating myself up." Amelia replied. "I'm just trying to acknowledge my own shortcomings. I didn't think I had any."

Warren rolled his eyes. "We all have shortcomings and usually an exaggerated ego doesn't help. I know that I'm no Lex Luthor but I'm cool with that." He said with a laugh. "Then again, I don't have a psychotic obsession with proving myself better than a man with the powers of a fucking demigod. I've heard some guys have feelings of inadequacy but trying to prove yourself better that the Man of Steel is retarded. "

Amelia was forced to laugh at that comment. "What bothers me is the amount of training that Zarina seems to have had." She replied. "She's eighteen but could probably hold her own against any of the magic users on this planet or maybe even one of the New Gods."

"You're jealous." Warren said noting her response.

"Of course I'm fucking jealous!" Amelia exclaimed. "I'm going to have to redouble my training efforts if I'm going to last longer against her than I did."

Oz had thought today had been a good day. Thought being the key word as his van was suddenly knocked on its side. His van's attacker landed on the fallen vehicle and he was a bit shocked. Her costume reminded him of Hawkgirl but the coloring was completely wrong. The coloring of this Hawk-person was red and black. She did seem to swing a mean mace as the massive dent on the side of his van could have only come from the mace. The werewolf didn't notice any way her wings could have been attached and his nose did smell feathers which led him to the realization that the wings were real. A black and white clad Killswitch stood next to her. Oz knew from Faith that Killswitch was really Larry from school but he wasn't about to argue that with him. A chill went up his spine though when he heard a familiar voice.

"One, two, Alpha's coming for you." Alpha said slowly walking towards the group. "Hello, pup."

Oz took a step back and Alpha laughed at this display of fear. Killswitch's hands sparked with electrical energy but his attempt to attack the teenage werewolf was interrupted as a large controlled tornado of air. Oz looked up to see Iota used his wind powers to keep himself suspended in the air.

"Thanks." He said to the android.

"It is not a problem. You are a valued member of your social group." Iota replied. "I have signaled the others. They will arrive shortly."  
Without warning, a dumpster collided with Alpha's back causing the hyena man to stumble forward slightly. The hyena man looked behind him to see Calypso dusting off her hands as it was clear that the Themysciran beauty had thrown the large metal object. Slayer stood next to the Themysciran and pulled out what looked like at first like a katana hilt but missing its blade. Adjusting her stance to act as though the hilt had a blade attached, the blade began to appear as though it unfolded out of the hilt. It reminded Oz of something he had heard about called memory metal, a metal that could on command resume a specific shape.

"I see someone who would make a more interesting mate than any Slayer." Alpha said leering at Calypso.

Slayer handed a katana hilt to Calypso who quickly activated the memory metal blade. Calypso smiled when the blade fully formed.

"Looks like a dog needs to get fixed." Slayer said joking with the Themysciran warrior.

"Mr. Barker is quite adamant about the subject." Calypso replied.

"Get the werewolf, Hawkette!" Killswitch exclaimed an order at the crimson clad girl.

Hawkette never got the chance as a green bird cage construct enveloped her. The winged teenager glared up to see Spectrum looking at her.

Aura hadn't told everyone about all of her abilities that she had but they were staggering to say the least. Along with the ability to control every wavelength of the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum, she was directly linked to anything that drew power from the Spectrum as well. This meant that she could not only teleport herself anywhere in the universe but she could also teleport anyone wearing a power ring anywhere in the universe as well which was a very frightening thought. In a particularly twisted thought she had, she could even teleport every member of the Sinestro Corps into a star which wasn't a comfortable thought for her to have. The tomes known as the Book of Oa and the Book of Parallax were memorized instantly once she became aware of them. She could even create the items that corresponded with each Corps which that slightly terrified her as she could easily hand out the most powerful weapons in the universe and there was nothing anyone could do to stop her. Another ability that she had was kind of poetic in the sense that she could see a person's aura to tell how they were feeling. As she looked at the girl that had been referred to by Killswitch as Hawkette, she did not see the color that she had been expecting. She had been expecting to see the color red to signify the rage that her capture should have brought about. Instead, she saw yellow with only a hint of red.

"What are you afraid of?" Spectrum asked.

Hawkette yelled and struck at the birdcage construct with her Thanagarian mace. The Nth metal that the mace was made out of was able to disperse the cage, much to Spectrum's surprise. The winged girl hit her with the mace which rattled her for a second before she managed to capture Hawkette in a mechanical claw arm construct which pinned the girl's arms to her side.

"What are you afraid of?" Spectrum asked again.

"What does it matter?" Hawkette asked.

"You don't need to be afraid." Spectrum told her in a comforting tone. "Is this why you're doing this?"

"WE'RE DIFFERENT!" Hawkette yelled. "YOUR POWERS DON'T MAKE YOU A FREAK!"

"You're not a freak." Spectrum said. "So you have wings; that just makes me think you look like an angel."

"I'M A FREAK!" She yelled trying to struggle against her restraints.

Before Spectrum could respond, she was hit by a blue Caprice that Killswitch had thrown at her electro-magnetically. This broke her concentration allowing Hawkette to escape who immediately hit Spectrum with her mace. As the two teams recovered, Killswitch glared at the android.

"Hey Tin Man, you're suppose to be on our side." Killswitch exclaimed.

"While it may be true that my creator made me for that purpose, it is no longer my purpose." Iota said in response. "My creator may have built my body; the Justice League Sunnydale has given me my soul."

Without warning, the three villains were teleported away. Spectrum looked down at the ground and didn't notice Slayer approach her.

"Something wrong?" Slayer asked.

"I think I just saw a glimpse of what might have happened if I didn't get the help I had received." Spectrum said to her comrade. "You didn't see the fear that she had."

"I can understand. I probably would've been a twisted bitch if Zarina and her mom hadn't been there for me." Slayer replied. "You going to be at the Bronze later? Jonathon plans on introducing Iolaus on everyone."

"Sounds like fun." Spectrum said.

Zarina was nursing a Coke as she rewound the battle she had with Amelia Faust. She didn't even notice Faith walking up to her until the Slayer spoke up.

"Something bothering you?" She asked.

"I fought one of my old friends tonight." Zarina responded.

"I'm guessing by old friend that you mean when you were a guy." Faith said getting a nod from the magician in response. "Don't beat yourself up over it. It isn't your fault that she went over to the Dark Side of the Force."

"I still feel bad about it." Zarina replied turning to look out at the crowd. "How is Iolaus acclimating?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "Knew I shouldn't have got you that Word-A-Day calendar. Pretty well, I think. I've seen a few ladies eyeing him up not to mention Cordelia and Willow after you mentioned the little fact that he's a walking vibrator." She said.

"I knew I shouldn't have said that." Zarina said with a smile.

"I don't really see it. Calypso seems a bit more interested in Jonathon and Robin Hood seems to be more interested in Cordelia." Faith replied.

"Anything else I should be wary of?" Zarina asked.

Faith smiled. "What's this I heard from Calypso about you and these Themysciran massage oils?" She asked.

Zarina saw through the obvious hint. "If you've been good, I'm more than happy about showing you." She said.

"What will the youth of this town think of next?" Mayor Richard Wilkins asked himself as he held the small black box in his hand. Someone knocked on his office door. "Come in."

"You wanted to see me." Finch said.

"Yes, I have a present for you for your years of faithful service." Wilkins replied placing the box on the desk.

Deputy Mayor Alan Finch walked over to the Mayor's desk and opened the box. His face lit up when he opened the box and took out a platinum watch.  
"I don't know what to say, Sir." Finch said.

"Thank you would be sufficient." Wilkins replied with a smile.


	13. Blackest Night Part One Nightfall

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Chapter Thirteen

Blackest Night, Part One

Nightfall

Five men dressed in black were inside the Sunnydale Art Gallery. Security had been easy to breach and they were certain that the Justice League Sunnydale weren't going to interfere with the heist.

"Hey Paul, sure we can pull this off?" One of the men asked the leader.

"Of course, what could go wrong?" Paul asked.

"I could show up." A feminine voice said from behind them.

They turned to see a woman dressed in a black costume that covered her body with a black domino mask. It was obvious that the costume had to be some sort of body armor but they didn't recognize her as any of the other capes that could be seen in the small town. The fact that such a town did have so many heroes was rather strange.

"I know you do not know of me but I know of you. You are here to steal from the fluffy little girl's mother which I can not allow." She said. "Surrender and I'll be merciful and quick. If you do not, I'll get to have fun."

One of the criminals pulled out a small hand gun and fired at the woman who was able to easily dodge the attack by dropping to the floor next to a chair which she hurled at the assailant. He dropped like a ton of bricks. She attacked the remaining criminals who were easily defeated. After she finished tying them up for the police, she walked towards the door.

"Who the fuck are you?" Paul asked.

"I don't know yet. Perhaps I will be given a name later by the friendly people who comment on these events." She said before leaving.

"Alright Habib, give me all the money in the register!" He exclaimed with the shotgun not too far from the gas station clerk's head.

'Habib' began to fill the man's bag frightened for his life. He never had much luck and this proved the trend he was having.

"BOOT TO THE HEAD!" Slayer yelled.

He looked back over at the robber to find the man unconscious on the ground and he was relieved to see the criminal was unconscious. A young woman in a gray and black costume had begun to tie up the criminal while another young woman in a magician's costume was holding a cup under the slushee machine dispensing out a grape concoction.

"Slayer, what flavor did you want?" She asked.

"Orange." Slayer answered.

The magician filled a second cup with the orange flavored ice drink and walked over to the attendant who hadn't left his station.

"How much?" She asked with a smile.

He quickly rang up the drinks. "$3.43." He replied.

She placed a five dollar bill on the counter. "Keep the change." She said taking the two cups off the counter.

A squad car had just pulled into the lot as Slayer and Zarina exited the station. Slayer gestured towards the station and the two officers went inside as the two heroes left the scene. Taking a sip from her orange slushee, Slayer looked back at Zarina.

"So, when is our headquarters suppose to be completed anyway?" Slayer asked.

"It's only a quarter of the way done." Zarina replied. "Dinah is modeling it after the Hall of Justice in Detroit. It should fit in here."

"It's been kinda slow." Slayer remarked. "Wonder what everyone's plotting?"

"Who says we're plotting anything?" They hear Killswitch ask.

They turn around to see Killswitch and Alpha had managed to sneak up on them. With a sigh, Zarina and Slayer chucked their slushees at Killswitch. The villain was surprised and paid the price when the grape and orange drinks splattered against his face. Alpha laughed when the electrical villain's powers were shorted out.

"Offensive uses of gas station drinks, I approve." He said laughing.

"Then, I guess you're going to approve of this." Slayer said pulling out a stun bola.

_**!!!!!!!!!**_

With a bright flash of light, a creature seemed to have teleported in front of Slayer and Zarina and roared at Killswitch and Alpha. The creature looked like it had been carved from obsidian into the shape of a dragon. Slayer looked over at Zarina.

"I didn't know you got a pet, Zarina." She said.

"I wasn't looking for a dragon." Zarina replied. "I've always been partial to a cat though I haven't found one that seems to be the right one for me."

The dragon slashed at Alpha.

"WHERE IS MY SISTER?!" The dragon bellowed out his question.

"I think I would have remembered someone as ugly as you." Killswitch retorted.

A spell she had tried with a girl named Anya had went wonky. Something about it was creepy and this was coming from the daughter of Felix Faust. Amelia felt something tingle her magic and she looked up. Her jaw dropped as she saw the portal open in the sky.

"What have I done?" She asked.

There were many universes being accessed by the portal. One of them was waging war against the darkness and one of the darkness' weapons had been sent through the portal. The black ring found its way to a semi that was transporting a body for the Mayor.

_**I was a Field Watcher being given the honor of being assigned to watch over a Slayer. Her name is Buffy Anne Summers and she was a typical American teenager who had fell through the cracks in the system the Council has in finding new Slayers. I taught her what she needed to know about her destiny and I felt like I was finally fulfilling my purpose. Unfortunately, destiny has a way of biting you on your ass when you feel like your purpose was fulfilled.**_

A master vampire by the name of Lothos had found us. My Slayer fought desperately to stop him but he was too strong. To save her life, I had to sacrifice my own.

{Merrick Jamison-Smythe of Earth...RISE!!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Joe, the driver, screamed when he saw the decaying man pull him through the window of his truck. The decaying man seemed to be smiling and the driver could see a white inverted triangle on his chest with five white lines extending from the top of the triangle.

**"This is rather ironic for me." **He said.

_**{FEAR}**_

Merrick tore his hand into Joe's chest and ripped out the man's heart. Devouring the organ as if it was an apple, he was quickly done with it.

_**{Power Level: 0.01%}**_

Merrick tore the man's head off and used a black knife energy construct to remove the excess flesh till all that was left was the man's skull. The Black Lantern could feel something blocking him and did not know what it was. For some reason, the only Black Lanterns that could be raised had to be known by the residents of those who lived in Sunnydale or had resided there at some point. Until the residents of Sunnydale died, no one would know they were even there or be able to interfere. The skull flared with black energy.

**"The Blackest Night Falls Across The Sky. The Darkness Grows As All Light Dies. We Crave Your Hearts And Your Demise. By My Black Hand, The Dead Shall Rise!"** He exclaimed as black rings flew from the skull's eyes.

_**I was a Slayer. It was the 1970s and I was good at my calling. My Watcher, Bernard Crowley, was like a father to me and the only person who could be considered the grandfather to my son, Robin. I was a rarity as Slayers went as I had the chance to have a child.**_

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to even see my son start school. It was 1977 and I had tracked a vampire that was reportedly one quarter of the group once known as the Scourge of Europe. His name was Spike. Our battleground turned out to be a subway train car.

It wasn't fair! I was the Slayer! It shouldn't have been me! The vampire snapped my neck and I died on that train. Before the darkness finally claimed me, I could feel my leather duster being removed.

{Nikki Wood of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**I was the head of the Watchers' Council. I was superior to those who felt like they knew better because of it. Our main tool was the Slayer. A girl gifted with the powers of the Slayer. It irked me when I found out that her Watcher was disregarding tradition and I resolved to stop it.**_

My actions led to my downfall as the world's greatest assassin had decided to show me the error of my ways....slowly.

{Quentin Travers of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**I was a high school principal. I tried to be the friend of my students in Sunnydale High School. It didn't seem like too much to ask.**_

I remember being confronted by a few of my students. They were acting very strangely. I can still remember how it felt when their teeth tore into my flesh.

{Robert Flutie of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**I was a demon hunter but I ended up cursed into a ventriloquist's dummy. This was ridiculous. I...**_

{Sid of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**{Power Level: 0.02%}**_

Merrick raised the skull up at the body of the young man named Pike. A black ring flew out of the skull.

_**{Pike of Earth...RISE!}**_

Pike's body took a decayed appearance as he stood back up with the Black Lantern symbol on his jacket.

**"Looks like we need to go to Sunnydale."** He said.

_**My name is Xin Rong. I was a Slayer during the 1900s in China. A vampire named Spike had killed me but I left him with a reminder thanks to the sword I had wielded. He would carry that scar always.**_

{Xin Rong of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Willow was sitting in a very comfortable chair in Jason Blood's study reading a book that Jason had borrowed from Zarina. She was reading a section involving magical adoptions when Drusilla set a cup of tea down. It was clear from how she was dressed that she had just came in from a patrol.  
"She means it you know." Drusilla said to her. "When she said that she felt the same towards you that Xander did."

"That I was like a sister to her?" Willow asked receiving a nod in response from the vampire. "Somehow, I doubt sisters would have cast the spell that I did on her."  
Drusilla shook her head. "She isn't cross with you." Drusilla said. "She considers you family."

**"Well, since my granddaughter considers you like a sister..."** A voice said before a dark cloud of smoke billowed up. **"ABRACADABRA!"**

Drusilla and Willow leapt to their feet to see the zombie magician standing before them. His costume was adorned with an inverted white triangle with five white lines running up from the triangle. Drusilla sneered at him.

"He reeks of death." She said.

**"You wound me, my dear. I guess I could take that as a compliment coming from one quarter of the Scourge of Europe that I heard of so much as a child."** He said before turning his attention back to Willow. **"Since my granddaughter is soon to be quite busy, I'll simply remove your heart out, girl, for daring to even think you were part of the family."**

"I'll stop you." She said defiantly causing the Black Lantern to laugh.

**"You couldn't stop me, child."** Zatara said with a cackle. **"You are merely a practicing witch reliant on pleading power from the gods. I have more magic in my pinkie than you do in your very being."**

Willow smiled. "Then, I guess I just need to invoke my right to get added into the family." She replied. "You said it yourself that your 'granddaughter' considers me to be a sister to her. All I need to do is ask the grand matriarchs of the family line..." She then found herself showered in white light and she smiled. "and I think they magically added me."

**"That won't save you, child."** He said. **"You may be a Zatara by magic now but not by blood and flesh. That won't save you. Ekat reh traeh!"**

Truth be told, a million spells came to her mind as she had a second to think about how to counter the curse sent at her but she only needed one and she threw a great deal of confidence behind it.

"Odnu sih xeh!" She exclaimed.

_**I was Mayor Wilkins' mole within the high school to help him monitor the 'pests' that I had to endure. Being his mole meant I was protected from anything this town had normally offered that had endangered the general public. My predecessor did not enjoy the same protection and was eaten by his 'lovely students' that he cared so much about.**_

However, metahumans did not seem to be something that the Mayor's protection extended to when that blonde bitch killed me...

{Armin Snyder of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**I am the Judge. I was the greatest destroyer and one of the most feared demons ever to walk this pitiful Earth. With a gaze or a touch, I could burn humanity or anything that had anything remotely human within it. Against any weapon forged, I was invincible. I could not be killed by any weapon forged.**_

Because of this, a group of paladins had dismembered me and scattered my pieces to different points on the Earth hoping that I would never again be reassembled. What they didn't count on was an insane vampire wanting me for a "birthday present". I was reassembled and I began to grow in strength.

Like the paladins before, another group of humans dared to stop me. However, they found a weakness in my armor. My last words were rather fitting considering the time that had past.

"What's that do?"

{Judge of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**My best friends were two very different people. Willow Rosenberg was the smartest person I knew and tolerated the fact that I wasn't as smart as she was. I might have asked her out had I didn't know that she had been wanting to date my brother in all ways but blood, Xander Harris. I did have my eyes set on one girl in the school.**_

Her name was Cordelia Chase. She was beautiful, sexy, a cheerleader, sexy, rich, had a tight ass, did I mention sexy? She had everything a guy could dream about but she would have had nothing to do with me, no matter what I tried.  
Xander had fell for the new girl at school. I think her name was Buffy. At the Bronze that night, I had gotten lucky as a hot blonde chick had actually started talking to me. In retrospect, I should have ran away from her.

She took me deep within the ground and I quickly realized that she wasn't human. Her fangs tore into my neck. Before I lost consciousness from blood loss, I tasted something coppery dripping into my mouth.

{Jesse McNally of Earth...RISE!}

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Buffy rammed the stake into the vampire's heart and smiled when she saw the vampire burst into dust. She turned to see Angel stake a pair of vampires with a pop-out stake gadget he had attached to each of his wrists. He turned towards her.

"Buffy, does tonight feel weird to you?" He asked.

"No, why do you ask?" She asked.

Before he could answer, an arrow whizzed by his head. Angel turned to see the attempted attacker only to hear a loud explosion from where the arrow impacted. He saw the Blue Bowman with his bow out notching another arrow.

"What the hell are you doing, Bowman?" He asked angry at the attack.

_**FLSSH FLSSH FLSSH FLSSH**_

They turned to see black streaks of energy penetrate the graves and the ground began to move as if vampires were clawing their way to the surface.

**"They're not vampires, Buffy."** A familiar girl's voice could be heard.

"Theresa?" Buffy asked in surprise.

Theresa stood before her clad in similar style clothes that she was last seen when Buffy had visited her in the funeral parlor. If it hadn't been for Oz, she would have been dead. Theresa's clothes were black with a strange white triangle on her chest.

_**{FEAR.}**_  
_**{HOPE.}**_

{COMPASSION.}

"I should know." Theresa said. _**"I became one thanks to the stiff you fucked."**_

Blue Bowman's arrow flew through the air and struck the Black Lantern in the head. The arrow ignited and in a fiery blaze; the Black Lantern was consumed.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Buffy turned to the Blue Bowman.

"What the hell was that?" She asked.

"Thermite arrow." He explained. "Burns till it exhausts its fuel. I'm just glad that worked but we have bigger problems."

Buffy and Angel looked across the graveyard to see people rising from the graves. They backed up slowly.

"What the hell is going on?" Angel asked.

"Don't know, Deadboy, but it's happening all across town." Bowman said.

"Got enough of those termite arrows?" Buffy asked.

Bowman rolled his eyes. "That would be extremely convenient." He said sarcastically. "We need to get to the K.O.R.D. facility. Hopefully, Zarina's company has lots of things that go boom."

Joyce answered the knocking on her front door only to scream at what she saw. The corpse smiled a toothy grin at her.

**"Mrs. Summers, is Buffy home?"** Pike asked. **"I wanted to take her out for a **_**bite**_** to eat. I love a hearty meal myself."**

Joyce slammed the door only for the Black Lantern to shatter the door into pieces. The Black Lantern appeared to be annoyed at her.

**"I guess she isn't here."** Pike said. **"I'll just take your heart instead."  
**_**{FEAR.}**_

"Mom!" Dawn exclaimed.

"DAWN RUN!" Joyce yelled fearing for the life of her youngest child.

**"Don't worry about her, Mrs. Summers."** Pike said. **"You'll need a meal when you become a Black Lantern as well."**

"MOM!" Dawn yelled out.

Joyce was blinded by a bright flash of white light and the scream of the Black Lantern. She only heard one other thing.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Iota knew one thing at least. The _date_ he had with Cordelia had not ended the way he thought it would. The _date_ had been an attempt made by her to show him a more human experience. Unfortunately, the zombies with the black rings had made their appearance. He tried using his wind powers to keep them at bay but they were able to quickly regenerate despite behind tore apart by the high winds into dust.

_**{FEAR.}**_

{LOVE.}

"I'm sorry, Delphi." He said. "I do not think we will survive this."

_**{FEAR.}**_

{HOPE.}

{COMPASSION.}

{LOVE.}

"We have to, Iota." Cordelia said.

As the Black Lanterns drew closer to them, green and red constructs burst through every available opening inside the Bronze. Cordelia recognized the constructs as appearing to be replicas of the Greek Spartans in full combat gear. The construct Spartans charged the Black Lanterns with a red Spartan and a green Spartan double-teaming each Black Lantern.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

A Black Lantern leapt at Cordelia only to be destroyed in a pair of green and blue energy blasts. Cordelia saw Spectrum fly down into the nightclub through a hole created in the roof.

"Are you okay?" She asked her friend.

"Yah, what are those things?" Cordelia asked.

Spectrum reached down and picked up one of the shattered black rings. The look on her face spoke volumes of the disgust she felt just by holding it.

"They are not truly who they appear. These rings wear the bodies of the dead." She explained. "Like a computer, they somehow download the memories of the people they wear. If that person has any powers, so does the Black Lantern. For some reason, they are being drawn here. For some reason, this is their beachhead."

"What do you mean that damn black dome is impenetrable?" Zatanna asked.

She was up in the Watchtower watching as Batman and the Martian Manhunter were analyzing the data they were collecting. Jason had been on the Watchtower as well having recently returning from a mission.

"I mean exactly what I said, Zee." Batman said. "The unknown energy has disrupted communications with the town and all ways in seem to be blocked."

She collapsed into a chair. It didn't take a telepath or a detective to know that she was concerned about her daughter.

"Zarina will be okay." Batman said trying to reassure her. "My goddaughter is one of the strongest teenagers I know. She gets that strength from you."

"I know, Bruce, but I'm still worried." Zatanna replied.

Finch was knocked to the ground by the zombie Chinese girl. He didn't understand her language but he caught her name, Xin Rong, a Slayer killed by the vampire named Spike during the Boxer Rebellion. Another undead girl threw her off of him. He recognized this girl as another Slayer that Spike had killed, Nikki Wood.

**"You're not a vampire."** She said. **"Yet something about you is trying to convince me that you are."**

_**{FEAR.}**_

**"Looks like I'll get a snack though." **Nikki said before tearing his heart out of his chest and devouring it.

_**{Power Level: 0.23%}**_

Xin Rong began to say something before Nikki glared at her.

**"SPEAK ENGLISH!"** She yelled.

"What's going on?" Killswitch asked as the sky became unnaturally dark.

"I don't know." Zarina responded.

**"What are you still doing here?"**

The odd quintet turned to see three Black Lanterns descending down towards them. One of the Black Lanterns seemed to be the leader because of a skull he held.

"Hey, Zarina." Slayer said. "Why is my Slayer senses going berserk on these guys?"

**"I asked a question."** The one with the skull said. **"What are you still doing here?"**

"Matriculating." Zarina said smiling weakly.

He held up the skull and a single black ring flew out of it. The ring guided itself onto Zarina's left middle finger. Zarina could hear the ring speak.

_**{Alexander Harris of Earth...}**_

{...}

{...}

{...}

{...}

{...}

{...}

{...RISE!}

Author's End Notes: Well, I thought that would be the perfect cliffhanger so that I was sure to get people's attention. I'm writing Blackest Night: Midnight right now so TAO can call off the evil mafia bunnies.


	14. Blackest Night Part Two Midnight

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Chapter Fourteen

Blackest Night

Part Two

Midnight

Zarina screamed as the black energy encompassed her. The energy was trying to rip her apart and it felt like nothing she could do about it. Her gaze settled on Slayer and a blackness overtook her vision as she saw Faith glow violet with only a tinge of yellow.

"We've got to get that damn ring off of you." Slayer said tugging at the ring futilely.

**"It is useless, girl."** Merrick said with a laugh. **"The ring won't come off."**

_**{LOVE.}**_

"You have to fight it, Z!" Slayer exclaimed. "Don't let it control you."

Crying out in pain, Zarina shoved Slayer aside and flew off into the air trying to get away from her. Merrick laughed as she flew away.

**"Soon, the ring will raise Alexander Harris and she will be consumed by the darkness."** He said.

"What the hell are you?!" Slayer yelled up at the floating corpse.

**"I am merely one embraced by Death."** Merrick said. **"I have been placed as Death's right arm. I tire of this. The one to devour your heart will be along shortly."**

Merrick flew off taking the Black Lanterns with him and Slayer turned to look at the three others who were with her.

"We have to stop those damned things." Slayer said to them.  
"Bullshit!" Killswitch exclaimed. "It's everyone for themselves."

Slayer grabbed the villain by the neeck and pulled him up off his feet. She glared coldly at him.

"Let me put this in words your little mind can understand." She said. "There are two sides in this fight right now, the living and the dead, and if you don't want to help the living I will personally allow you to join the other team."

Driving to the former CRD building that had been converted into a state-of-the-art K.O.R.D. facility, Blue Bowman had been breaking several speed limits as well as attempting to break a few laws of physics getting there but he and his passengers did arrive safely. He led them into the building to a small command center.

"Wow, wonder why Zarina never showed us this place?" Buffy asked.

"Because she has things here that are rather dangerous in the wrong hands." Bowman replied typing commands into a console. "I'm calling up all the members of the Justice League Sunnydale."

"So that's you, Zarina, Faith, Spectrum, Delphi, Calypso, and Iota." Buffy said. "Doesn't sound like a lot of people."

"We have more members than you may realize." Bowman replied before turning on a communicator. "Looks like short-range communications are still online. We won't be able to raise anyone outside of Sunnydale. _This is Blue Bowman, everyone check in._"

_"This is Warp, what the hell is going on?"_

"The dead are rising, Warp." Bowman explained. _"If you can damage them faster than they can regenerate, they should stay down. Thermite works well."_

"This is Hawkette. I'm still inside the Secret Society Headquarters." Hawkette said. _"Can I take them down yet?"_

"Your call but I'm more worried about the team's safety." Bowman replied.

_"Joyce Summers here, one of the zombie's attacked the house."_ Joyce said with fear evident in her voice. _"It was Buffy's friend, Pike. Dawn somehow destroyed him with white light."_

"Mom, are you and Dawn okay?" Buffy asked as she ran over to the console.  
_"We're fine, honey."_ Joyce said. _"They're staying away from us because of Dawn's powers."_

"This is Calypso." The Themysciran warrior answered. _"I am currently getting Ms. Calender and Mr. Giles to your location now."_

"This is Delphi. Iota's flying me to the K.O.R.D. facility now." Cordelia said. _"Spectrum is fighting the Black Lanterns by hitting them with a combination of green energy blasts as well as blasts from the other six lights. It seems to be working."_

"Drusilla here, Willow is fighting a Black Lantern right now." The vampire said. _"It's Kitten's grandfather."_

"Bowman, Zarina's in deep trouble." Faith said over the communicator. _"One of those black rings got onto her finger and said 'Alexander Harris of Earth...Rise'. She flew off trying to get away from us. She's fighting it but I don't know how long she can last."_

"Understood...I'll try to think of something." Bowman said hanging up the communicator. "What the hell am I suppose to do?"

"Do those communicators have a locator in them?" Buffy asked getting a nod from Bowman in response. She tapped the communicator on the console back on. _"Mom, I need you to access the communicator's GPS. Go to Zarina's location and have Dawn get rid of that damned ring."_

_**"No Bu**_ffy, **y**o**u ha**ve to s**ta**y a**wa**y." Zarina's voice came over the communicator. _**"I**_ do**n't wa**nt **to h**urt **any**on**e."**

"Zarina, let B's little sis help." Faith pleaded with her.

_**"No! S**_ave **Wil**lo**w."** Zarina said. _**"Sh**_e c**an'**t st**op Gran**dpa."

_"But..."_ Faith said.

_**"But no**_thing." Zarina replied. _**"Don'**_t kn**ow h**o**w long I**'l**l last. B**owman, ask t**he Moth**er Scara**b. Sh**e c**an he**lp."

Zarina's communicator was shut off and a wall opened up to reveal a large red metal scarab of a type of technology that Blue Bowman had his bow out with an arrow already notched. Angel stared at the metallic insect.

"What is it?" The vampire asked.

"It's Reach technology." Bowman replied. "The Reach created the scarabs to passively take over worlds but it's usually blue."

"But doesn't that Blue Beetle guy have one of those bug things too?" Buffy asked.  
"Khaji Da is different." Bowman said. "Pretty much all of the other Reach tech are---"

**|Do not compare me to those programmed monstrosities.|**

Buffy looked around. "Who said that?" She asked.

**|I did, Buffy Summers. I am the Mother Scarab. Zarina referred to me as Oma. You may do the same.|** Oma answered her. **|I am of the race that was conquered by the Reach. The Reach have captured other Mother Scarabs and forced them to breed repeatedly. Before the Mother Scarabs could give their knowledge to their young, the young are taken away and programmed as weapons. It pains my circuitry knowing what has happened to them. Only newly born Mother Scarabs are given their knowledge.|**

"I had just thought the scarabs were technology." Bowman said with a bit of shame showing on his face.

**|Do not be ashamed. It is a common misconception. The name of the race that created the Mother Scarabs is unpronounceable in your primitive language. Their goals were similar to the Martusians better known as the Guardians of Oa. They sought a way to protect the universe.|** Oma explained. **|Young, like my children, are born and given their knowledge from their mother. Then, they are sent out to various worlds where they find a suitable champion of justice who seeks to protect the lives of other sentients of their world. It was this way that drew the attention of the Reach. They exterminated my creators and enslaved my race. I met Zarina when she accidentally 'hiccupped' a spell while she fought against a group of criminals on your world. She was transported millions of light years to a Reach facility where she met me. I was newly born and she was greatly surprised by my design. I told her my tale and how I too desired freedom so she picked me up and stuck me in her top hat. I had a most interesting time with a being known as "Captain Carrot" who also resided in her hat.|**

Buffy laughed. "Captain Carrot?" She asked Bowman.

"It's the name Zarina has for her white rabbit." Bowman said smiling. "The most spoiled rabbit I have ever seen."

**|Buffy Summers, one of my children would like to meet you.| **Oma said surprising the Slayer.

"Me?" Buffy asked. "Why?"

**|Zarina had told me of your tales of heroism. My child is impressed and wished to become your partner.|** Oma said. **|You would be a more powerful Slayer because of it.|**

A smaller metal insect crawled over next to Oma and seemed to be excited to see Buffy. The insect seemed to be trembling with excitement.  
**|I can't believe it. I'm actually meeting Slayer Buffy. This is so cool.|** The bug said. **|Is it true that you defeated the Master after he drowned you and you died?|**

"Yah, it happened like that." Buffy said not sure what it was like to have a fan until now. "So, you want to be my partner?"

**|Yes, I join with you and help you in battle against the forces of evil and darkness. I will be your sword and your shield.|** The insect said.

"So, what do I call you?" Buffy asked.

**|I do not receive a name until after my first major battle. It is the Scarab way.|** The machine said.

Buffy nodded. "This won't hurt, will it?" She asked.

**|Only a little. I have to tap into your spine for a proper connection.|** It said to her. **|I'll try to make it as painless as possible.|**

She thought for only a moment before picking up the metal insect. Buffy petted it as if it was a pet animal before she lifted up her shirt and placed it on her back. She felt the cold metal legs of the scarab crawl up her back.

**|I will try to make this as painless as possible but even I have to admit, this will hurt.|** It said before making the connection.

Buffy screamed in pain until it was over. She took a couple of breaths before the scarab activated and she was covered in scarlet covered armor. The armor reminded her of Blue Beetle but she was missing the two antennae that the other scarab user had.

**|Please, do not try to compare me to that broken bug.|** Her scarab said.

"Why not?" She asked. "Aren't you related?"

**|Only as far as you are related to the chimpanzees in the zoo.|** Her scarab replied. **|I was born sentient and not only can I do everything that the freed slave can do, I boost your own abilities as well. Your Slayer abilities are increased greatly.|**

"Are you okay?" Angel asked.

"Yah, but you should take a step back." Buffy said. "My bug wants to see what dusting a vampire is like."

Bowman walked over to a wall and swiveled a panel around revealing a quiver of arrows. The Sapphire Archer took the allotted arrows into the quiver on his back. He looked over at Angel.  
"You might want to stay here." Bowman said. "I don't know what those things might do to you."  
**|The monster will not stay here.|** Oma said. The tone of her voice was clear. The Mother Scarab hated Angel. **|He is a monster that should have been put down a long time ago.|**

"Didn't Zarina bring Drusilla around here before?" Bowman asked.

**|Drusilla is different. She asked for a chance to redeem herself.|** Oma replied. **|Angel's soul was forced upon him. If he doesn't leave, my children will feed.|**

|Trust my mother, she does not threaten.| Buffy's scarab said. **|She promises.|**

"Alright, I'm leaving." Angel said.

**"Well, looks like you turned out to be the little spell caster though I'm trying to figure out why your clothes have changed?"** Zatara asked Willow.

Willow was ecstatic that the spell actually worked but she was curious how her clothes had been transfigured into something similar to what she had seen Zatanna and Zarina wear before complete with fishnet stockings. She smiled and decided to take it as a sign that things were going to be okay.

**"No matter, I'm still going to rip your heart out."** Zatara exclaimed. **"Ekat reh straeh!"**

"Tnacer sih xeh!" Willow yelled canceling his spell.

**"No matter, you can not stop me."** Zatara said.

"You assume the form of my adopted grandfather and think that will stop me." Willow said angrily. "I am going to stop you!"

Just as she finished her sentence, a beam of green energy and a beam of blue energy pierced the roof and impacted against the Black Lantern Zatara. The beams of energy tore him apart.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Drusilla and Willow looked up to see Spectrum lowering herself through the roof. The normally cheerful girl seemed to be filled with dread.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked.

"A black ring flew onto Zarina's finger." Spectrum explained. "We don't know where she is."  
Drusilla looked down at the floor but swiftly turned her attention to Spectrum. "We need rings." She said. "Can you transport a few rings and their batteries here?"

"Maybe, why?" Spectrum asked.

"With the rings of love and willpower, we may be able to save Kitten." Drusilla explained. "We use a ring of love to create a heart tether between Kitten and her Slayer and then use the ring of willpower to will her to live."

Spectrum quickly assumed a lotus position as she floated in the air. She opened her eyes and they saw her eyes from green to blue to yellow to red to violet to orange to indigo and then back to green with the cycle starting over again.

"There's a Green Lantern in town." Spectrum said reporting what she felt. "I'm transporting the rings and what batteries I can get. I can't get the orange battery or the ring but I can get the rest. The rings will be charged already."

_**"Jonathon Queen of Earth, you have great hope..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Iota of Earth, you have great hope..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Jenny Calender of Earth, you have the capability to show great compassion..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Drusilla of Earth, you have the capability to show great compassion..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Alpha of Earth, you show great rage..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Spike of Earth, you show great rage..."**_

_**"Faith Lehane of Earth, you have the capability to overcome great fear..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Rupert Giles of Earth, you have the capability to generate great fear..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Richard Wilkins of Earth, you have the capability to generate great fear..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_**"Joyce Summers of Earth, you show great love..."**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Members of the Justice League gathered around Oracle's workstation staring in disbelief as they knew they were helpless to help in the Sunnydale incident that was taking place. Zatanna was distraught as she stared at the main monitor at the black dome that covered the town.

_**"Mo**_m..."  
Zarina turned and gasped in shock when she saw a three-dimensional illusion of her daughter on the floor of the Watchtower. A strange black ring was on her left hand and she seemed as though she was in great pain.

"Zarina, I'm here." Zatanna said with tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

_**"I **_do**n't k**now **how l**on**g I hav**e." Zarina said as she struggled to speak. _**"Th**_e black ring f**orced i**ts way onto my h**and and I ca**n'**t **ge**t it** of**f. It'**s kil**lin**g me."

**{Ring unknown.}** Hal's ring said as he scanned Zarina.

Zatanna shook her head. "I'm not losing you." She said.

_**"I d**_on**'t w**an**t be **los**t eit**her." Zarina replied. _**"The b**_lac**k rin**gs are rais**ing th**e dead. **They f**ear **th**e gree**n in com**binat**ion w**it**h** other l**ight."**

"Don't give up, Zarina." Batman said to the girl. "You're stronger than that thing."

_**"I'm t**_rying, **Br**uce." Zarina said before a look of surprise appeared on her face.

The yellow ring that had flown to him had been a bit unusual but a welcome surprise. Though it didn't seem to be of much use against the creatures that had appeared. Wilkins was surprised to see his late deputy mayor standing before him as one of them.

"Allan, you've looked better." Wilkins said to the 'man'.

**"You got me killed you son of a bitch."** Finch replied.

"Allan, language." He scolded the creature.

**"Fuck my language."** Finch replied. **"I was loyal you fucking bastard and you had me killed."**

"To be fair, Alan, the watch was cursed to make one of the Slayers stake you as they would sense you were a vampire." Wilkins said.

**"Your fucking watch worked you cock sucking asshole."** Finch said. **"A Slayer still killed me but not one of the two Slayers you were thinking of, Dickhead."**

_**{Fear.}**_

Xin Rong came through the wall and her hand went through Wilkins' chest with her hand wrapped around his heart. Wilkins could only stare at his heart.  
"Well gosh..." He said before he died.

Xin Rong devoured his heart like an apple as Merrick entered the room.

_**{Power Level: 14.21%}**_

**"Wilkins will not be raised."** Merrick said to them. **"He has evaded death for too long. He will not be raised."**

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Giles, Jenny, and Calypso flew away from the high school as Jack O'Toole pushed his cart deeper into the school's bowels. He was being chased by his friends who had been raised by the black rings. He may have been a zombie but even he wasn't crazy.

**"Why are you running, Jack?"** One of them asked.

**"Don't you want to join us?"** Another one asked.

He finally had the bomb in the boiler room and turned back to look at his friends.

"I may be a zombified lunatic but I'm a heroic zombified lunatic!" He yelled out before pressing the detonator.

The resulting explosions ripped the high school apart taking the building up into a fireball.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

Slayer flew alongside Alpha as she tried to find Zarina. The two of them worked surprisingly well together as they double-teamed the Black Lanterns with her Oan energy blasts and his red energy napalm that he seemed to spew out of his mouth. She found it kind of gross but she wasn't complaining.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

{Connection Severed.}

{Connection Severed.}

"Where is she?" Slayer asked.

"I don't know where your mate is." Alpha said.

Slayer turned to see a duo of violet and green streaks of light fly over to her. She was surprised to see the violet light had been Mrs. Summers. The new Star Sapphire's costume was split down the middle showing a great deal of skin. She also had a violet colored tiara on as well as crystal earrings.

"Wow, Mrs. Summers." Slayer said. "Welcome to the Spandex Club."

"Thank you, Faith." Joyce said. "Though you may want to thank Jesse. He helped me here."

Slayer turned to see the teenager that had accompanied Buffy's mother. A moment of though passed before she realized who it was. Alpha realized who it was as well.

"Brother..." Alpha said receiving a weird look from Jesse.

"I know my dad was weird but I didn't think he was into that..." He said receiving a laugh from Slayer.

"A few weeks after you were killed in this reality, Xander was possessed by a primal hyena spirit. Our Willow cast a spell trying to separate Xander from Zarina." Slayer explained. "We ended up with Shenzi over there who is a bad guy and tried to kill us before."

Alpha glared at her as Jesse laughed. Joyce seemed concerned.

"Do you know where Zarina is?" She asked.

"She turned off her locator beacon." Slayer said looking back towards the ground. "I think she doesn't want to endanger us."

Joyce placed her ring hand over Faith's heart which startled the Slayer a bit.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm forming a heart tether between you and Zarina. Anyone can tell you two love each other." Joyce said. "With this, I should be able to locate her through you." A moment passed. "I've found her. Follow me."  
Joyce flew away followed by the others. They were hoping that they weren't too late.

_**"Mo**_m, I do**n't know i**f I **ca**n **hol**d on." Zarina said.

"You need to." Zatanna said to her daughter wishing that she could hold her close.

_**"I'm s**_o**rry, M**om." Zarina replied. _"I love---"_

The illusionary Zarina faded away as John Stewart phased into the station.

"Hal, a pair of rings and a pair of batteries have disappeared from Oa." John reported only to see Batman do something he didn't think possible. The Dark Knight smiled. "What do you know?"

Batman typed a few commands into a console and brought up Spectrum's file. "Zarina informed me that Spectrum is capable of locating anything that has tapped into the Emotional Spectrum. Spectrum is leery to use this ability as she can teleport anything that is tapped into the Emotional Spectrum wherever she wants it. She doesn't want to teleport anyone into a sun, I believe. They probably appropriated rings and batteries from the other Corps as well to fight the Black Lanterns." He said.

John saw Zatanna crying on the floor. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"One of the black rings flew onto Zarina's hand." The magician said. "It's killing her."

The robot that Warren had set her against was pitiful. The inventor stared at her furious at what she had done.

"You betray us?" He asked only to see her laugh.

"Betray you, that would have to imply I was on your side to begin with." Hawkette said noticing Discord limping behind Warren. "How's the leg?"

"Why aren't my powers working on you?" Discord asked.

"A perk working with the good guys is the fact that you get to work with several paranoid people who look for ways to negate a villain's powers." Hawkette said with a chuckle. "Warren's fail-safes were disabled and an enchanted amulet using the Hellmouth's ambient energy to create a field of energy large enough so that you can't Sith me to death. You will surrender."

"I think not." Warren said producing a small device. He pointed it toward a wall and a boom tube was formed from it. "We're out of here."

Hawkette attempted to pursue only for Warren to produce and detonate a flash bang. When her senses returned to normal, they were gone. She activated her communicator.

"Hawkette to Bowman, Warren and Discord are gone." She said into the device.

_"Where did he get a freakin' mother box?"_ Bowman asked. _"I'm sending Warp to meet you. Bowman out."_

She heard the air displace as Warp ran into the room. The emerald speedster clad in a green version of the Flash costume smiled at her.

"Tonight really sucks, you know." He said. "There was a Timothy Dalton James Bond marathon on tonight."

Faith, Jesse, Alpha, and Joyce found Zarina on Kingsmen Bluff. She lay in a small clearing and appeared to be tortured. Faith ran towards her only to be blocked by an invisible field.

"Zarina, let me in." Faith exclaimed.

**"N**o, I **mig**ht h**urt yo**u." Zarina replied.

A couple of flashes of indigo light and Faith could see the rest of their group. Jenny had the symbol of compassion seemingly tattooed with the circle portion of the symbol surrounding her right eye. Drusilla had the symbol on her stomach. Blue Bowman's costume wasn't changed except for the symbol of hope on his chest but Iota was clad in a Blue Lantern uniform. Giles simply had the Sinestro Corps uniform on with a domino mask. Willow stepped forward towards the barrier.

"Willow, stop!" Bowman exclaimed. "That ward can only be brought down by a---"

"Nepo!" Willow exclaimed collapsing the barrier.

"---Zatara." Bowman finished his sentence. "How in the hell?"

"No time to explain." Faith said running over to Zarina. "You can fight this."  
**"Fa**it**h, yo**u sh**ouldn**'t be h**ere."** Zarina struggled to say. **"I migh**t h**urt y**ou."

_**{Will.}**_

{Love.}

{Compassion.}

{Hope.}

Joyce ran over to the young magician and she noticed a violet ring on Zarina's right middle finger. The older woman looked at the Slayer.

"Faith, you have to _will_ her to live." Joyce said to her.

Joyce's ring and Faith's ring flared with energy as they tried to break the black ring's hold on her. Drusilla and Jenny walked over to them.

"You will need compassion," Drusilla said looking over at Blue Bowman and Iota. "and hope."

Blue Bowman and Iota stepped forward. Iota looked over to Faith.

"Do not worry, Faith." Iota said with a serene look on his metal face. "All will be well."

Zarina was struck with beams of violet, green, indigo, and blue energy. She screamed with pain but the black ring shattered quickly. Violet crystal incased her but it quickly shattered and she was now wearing a costume similar to Joyce's own except for the violet-colored top hat she now wore. Zarina wrapped her arms around Faith happily. Faith returned the embrace.

"I thought I lost you." Faith said crying.

"I'm okay now." Zarina replied. "That's what matters."

Zarina and Faith let each other go and the magician's eyes turned first to Jesse. She smiled and ran over to her friend giving him a big hug.

"How in the hell are you here?" She asked. "Last time I saw you, we were fighting Chaotica."

"I don't know." Jesse said shrugging his shoulders. "One second I'm fighting her, the next second I'm fighting those black things."

"Glad you're here." Zarina said before turning towards Willow. "You raiding my closet, Willow?"

"No, I was fighting Giovanni Zatara and I asked the Matriarchs of the Zatara family line and I was magically adopted into the family." Willow explained seeing a concerned look on Zarina's face. "Is something wrong?"

"We have to do this fast, Willow." Zarina said. "While you may have been magically made a Zatara, you are not _homo magi_. The magic you're now generating is going to burn you out like a candle."

"Is there anything that we can do to save my life?" Willow asked.

"Blood adoption, kinda like how vampires sire a person." Zarina said. "I have you drink my blood but since you asked the Matriarchs to add you in magically, you won't be my daughter but my sister. The blood adoption will cause you to be genetically my mother's daughter because she is the oldest living Zatara Matriarch."  
"Okay." Willow said nodding.

Zarina used her ring to slice open her wrist and held the self-inflicted wound against Willow's open mouth. As Willow began to drink, she began to glow with a bright white light and they noticed a few changes to Willow. Streaks of her red hair darkened into black streaks. Her eyes became heterochromatic with her left eye remaining her natural color and her right eye changing to match her sister. Zarina pulled her wrist away from Willow's mouth and healed the wound with a simple spell. Willow tried to slow her breathing as she felt herself change.

"Wow, that felt good." Willow said shuddering. "So, how powerful is that ritual anyway?"

"Zatanna and her daughter's files have been altered." Oracle said bringing up the files. "Zatanna, you only have one daughter right?"

"Fairly powerful." Zarina replied with a smile. "So, who wants to save the universe?"

If it hadn't been for the killer zombies with the bad taste in jewelry, Buffy would have found flying right now very fun. It had taken a bit of work but thanks to her remembering something from science class, she and her newfound partner had settled on an antimatter disintegrator weapon. This weapon however was a major pain in the ass because of two reasons. The first being that if she missed, the weapon would instantly annihilate whatever or whomever it struck. The second reason was the fact that it was slow to reload.

**"Buffy Summers of Earth, you will be judged."**

Buffy turned around to see the Judge flying towards her. The Black Lantern symbol was on his chest like a crest. Only one thing came to mind.

"Oh shit." She said.

Before the Judge could reach her, a red blur impacted the demon sending it to the ground. Buffy looked over to see Spike clad in a red and black version of his usual clothes with a strange symbol on his jacket.

**"Who dares?"** The Judge asked.

"I do you bloody wanker!" Spike yelled at the demon before unleashing a strange red bloodlike energy napalm from his mouth. "I hated you but I held my tongue because you made my Dru happy and then the bird flies the coop to come back here! When I find the bastard she's with, I'll tear him in two!"

**"You killed me, Spike."** Nikki said flying over. **"I guess I was just another notch on your belt."**

Spike fired more of the napalm energy at the Black Lantern former Slayer but both he and Buffy were surprised when a green beam of energy struck Nikki as well. Buffy turned to see the Green Lantern descend and was surprised about who it was.

"Hello, Miss Summers." Wesley said creating a large green stake construct with his ring. "Let's slay some of these things."

To Be Continued...

Author's End Notes: Who expected that to happen? None of you I bet. Please read and review.


	15. Blackest Night Part Three Dawn

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Chapter Fifteen

Blackest Night: Part Three

Dawn

Smoke rolled away as Buffy stared at the Black Lantern Judge who laughed at her. Her attack had done nothing to the demon.

"That should of worked." She said.

**|I know.|** Her scarab said. **|Why didn't it work?|**

Spike fired red energy from his mouth at the Judge as Wesley blasted the Old One again with a stream of green energy. The Judge was shrugging off these attacks until he was struck by a white beam of energy struck the demon in its chest. Roaring in what sounded like pain, Buffy fired her anti-matter weapon at the Old One to destroy him.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Buffy turned to see someone she hadn't been expecting but she did recognize her sister in Halloween costume that she had worn the night Xander had became Zarina. Her little sister had dressed up as the hero known as Dove.

"What are you doing out here?" Buffy asked her costumed sister.

"Duh, trying to help save the freaking universe." Dawn replied as if the answer couldn't be more obvious.

A Black Lantern came down from the sky and Dawn lifted up her right hand to firing another white stream of energy at the zombie destroying it instantly.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

"I'm not exactly defenseless here." Dawn said.

"Why aren't you home with Mom?" Buffy asked.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Maybe it has something to do with the violet ring that Mom got." She said.

"What violet ring?" Buffy asked.

"After I re-killed your old friend Pike..." Dawn said before her sister interrupted her.

"Pike's dead?" She asked sad at the thought.

"Apparently." Dawn said snapping at her sister. "After Mom went with this Green Lantern named Jesse, I put on my old Halloween costume from two years ago and I went to find you. I'm surprised it still fits."

"I wonder if Zarina has any clue how to stop these things." Buffy said receiving a glare from her sister. "What?"

"I was wondering when you would mention the fact that you knew actual superheroes particularly my favorite magical superhero." Dawn said.

"I've been busy." Buffy replied.

"With what?" Dawn asked. "Going out with your vampire boyfriend?"

"That is none of your business." Buffy said.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Buffy and the others looked up to see her mother as well as Faith, Wesley, Zarina, Alpha, Blue Bowman, Iota, Jenny, Spike, and Drusilla. The Slayer was surprised at what her mother was wearing.

"What the hell is going on?" Buffy asked.

Twirling a violet prop wand construct in her right hand, Zarina smirked. "Whatever could you mean, Buffy?" She asked. "Didn't it seem kind of obvious even though it isn't May yet."

Joyce raised an eyebrow. "Why is May important?" She asked.

Iota chose to answer that question. "It would seem that May is when the most dramatic apocalyptic event occurs in this town." The android said. "During her sophomore year, Buffy Summers battled an ancient vampire known as the Master. Last May during her junior year, Buffy fought Angelus who was attempting to open Acathla to suck this world into a hell dimension."

Blue Bowman let out a small laugh. "You are definitely a braver man than I could ever be." He said to his android friend.

"I can be reassembled easier than you can." Iota replied.

"Wait, if May is when the most dramatic apocalyptic event occurs and this is what is happening now..." Joyce said causing them all to shiver at the thought.

Black Lanterns raced towards them and Faith impaled them with green carrot constructs. Zarina smirked at her girlfriend before attacking the group of Black Lanterns with violet rabbit constructs.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

"Mom, you need to tell Dawn to go home." Buffy said.

Joyce walked over to her youngest daughter. "Dawnie...I want you to do what you think is right." She said to her daughter.

"Thanks Mom." Dawn said as she noticed Zarina was waving to her.

The teenage girl walked over to the magician who smiled at her.

"When this whole mess is over, we need to talk." Zarina said.

"About what?" Dawn asked.

"You have great potential and I would like to help you reach your fullest potential." Zarina said.

"Really?" Dawn asked trying to believe it. "This sounds like the part when you hand me my father's lightsaber and tell me I could be a great Jedi."

"Trust me." Zarina replied. "I don't have a lightsaber...yet."

* * *

Finding white phosphorus grenades was incredibly tricky but fortunately, Hawkette had remembered that Warren liked to stockpile everything he could get his hands on. Warp ran with a bundle of the grenades managing to ram a grenade into each Black Lantern he had came across while pulling the grenades' pins at the same time. The Black Lanterns erupted in a blast of flame.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Warp opened his mouth to say something but Hawkette glared at him.

"I swear if you make one comment about going point five past light speed; I will shove a hand grenade up your ass!" She exclaimed.

* * *

Buffy blasted Black Lantern after Black Lantern with the antimatter disintegrator trying to eliminate them as quickly as she could. She couldn't believe how many black rings had brought people back as twisted as they were. Training her weapon on the nearest Black Lantern, her jaw dropped when she recognized who it was.

"**I'm so disappointed in you."** Merrick said.

She shook her head. "It's not him." She said to herself. "It's not him."

"**It is and I am disappointed in what you become."** Merrick said.

Merrick rammed himself into her sending the two of them through the Bronze's roof. Her scarab was screaming at her to destroy the Black Lantern but she was gripped by three things that were holding her back.

_**{FEAR.}**_

_**{HOPE.}**_

_**{LOVE.}**_

"I can't." She said as tears fell from her eyes.

"**Of course, you can't do anything about it."** Merrick said. **"You could never do anything! You couldn't even save me!"**

Merrick delivered a pair of hard punches to her chest before hitting her with a haymaker on her chin. Buffy stumbled back paralyzed at the sight of her late Watcher standing before her.

"You're not him." She said again. "You can't be him."

_**{FEAR.}**_

"**You keep telling yourself that."** Merrick replied with a laugh. **"You might believe it one day."**

Buffy fired the antimatter disintegrator at Merrick who easily dodged the attack. The antimatter blast struck the wall opposite of the stage where bands normally performed and blew apart in a spectacular display of light. Buffy would have thought it was slightly pretty had her situation wasn't so desperate.

"**Never trust a dumb blonde bitch to aim."** Merrick said with a laugh. **"You are such a disappointment. You're suppose to be fighting and slaying vampires, not fucking them like a little whore!"**

Merrick kicked her hard in the ribs sending Buffy back to the ground. Buffy cried out in pain as she felt as though a rib or two might have been broken.

"**But instead of fighting the darkness, you end up in bed with it."** Merrick said. **"Did my sacrifice mean nothing to you! I died to save you from Lothos and this is how you repay that sacrifice! By **_**fucking**_** one of the most feared vampires in history!"**

Merrick stood over Buffy. **"Let me be the first to say, Buffy Anne Summers of Earth...Welcome to the Black Lantern Corps!" **He said raising his hand before sending it towards her chest.

Merrick's attack was halted as a yellow beam of energy hurled him off of her. Buffy looked to where she saw the attack come from to see Angel with a yellow power ring on his hand fire another beam of energy into Merrick's chest. The symbol of the Sinestro Corps was on Angel's yellow shirt though the rest of his costume resembled his normal attire.

"**That's not going to work, vampire."** Merrick said forming a black energy construct stake. **"I think this will stop you though."**

A violet energy beam struck Merrick in the chest and Buffy saw her mother fly through the opening that she had accidentally created.

"**That won't work either." **Merrick said.

"How about this?" Dawn asked from the back of the club firing a blast of white energy towards the Black Lantern.

Merrick quickly dodged the attack but found himself tackled by Buffy who managed to throw him into the white stream of energy coming from her younger sister.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Buffy collapsed in pain as her family and Angel went over to her.

"Are you okay, Buffy?" Angel asked.

**|Three cracked ribs, a hairline fracture of her tibia, as well as a broken collarbone.|** Her scarab said.

"Why am I not in as much pain as I should be?" Buffy asked.

**|I am lessening the amount of pain you should be in but I would highly recommend seeing the appropriate medical personnel.|** The scarab said.

"Thank you for saving me." Buffy said.

"Why do you need to thank us?" Dawn asked. "You would have and probably already have saved us in the past."

"Anyone up for saving the universe?" Buffy asked.

"Always." Was the reply.

* * *

Blue and green light blew apart Black Lanterns as Blue Bowman, Iota, and Jesse flew down the streets. Jesse was shaking his head.

"We're going too damn slow." Jesse said. "We'll never stop the Black Lanterns at this rate."

"Do not worry, Jesse." Iota said. "All will be well."

"I hope so." Jesse replied.

Blue Bowman allowed himself to laugh. "You do realize that Iota and I are part of the Lantern Corps of Hope right?" He asked.

"I do." Jesse said.

"**As do I."**

The three of them turned to see a Black Lantern version of Jesse fly towards them. The Blue Lanterns and the Green Lantern looked at each other before blasting the Black Lantern with beams of their respective energies.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

"That was disturbing." Iota said.

* * *

"Damn it, how many freaking people did you three vamps kill?!" Faith yelled as she blasted Black Lanterns away from herself.

"At least one a night for the last hundred years or so." Drusilla replied.

Spike rolled his eyes. "I think the question wasn't meant to be answered, Pet." He said.

"I'm not yours any longer, William." Drusilla stated coldly. "I am with Jason now."

"Can we can this until we book you on Springer?" Alpha asked before drenching a cluster of Black Lanterns in the red energy napalm.

* * *

Wesley and Giles did not know how but the Judge had rose again and their combined efforts were not damaging the demonic Black Lantern.

"**Your weapons are useless."** The Judge said. **"You will be judged."**

"Not by you." Giles said embedding a yellow construct sickle into the demon's back.

"And not by any demon from any world." Wesley replied before spotting Spectrum.

He flew over to her and noticed she was attempting in vain to destroy the demon as well. He recognized how powerful this girl was but had little to no idea on how to stop the creature.

_{One known entity may, in theory, be capable of destroying the Black Lantern Judge.} _Wesley's ring said.

"What entity?" Wesley asked.

_{Parallax. It is split between the power batteries of Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner.}_

"How could it be released?" Wesley queried his ring.

_{If all four batteries were brought together, a Sinestro Corpsman may be able to free the monster.}_

Wesley turned his attention back to Spectrum. "You can transport power batteries here, right?" He asked her.

"Yah." Spectrum replied a little confused.

"Bring the batteries of Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner here now." He ordered her.

Spectrum did as she was told though a bit confused and Giles flew over. He glared at the Watcher.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Giles asked.

"Simple, we need something to take the Judge down. My ring said that you could free Parallax so get on with it." Wesley said.

Spectrum's eyes widened as she recognized the name. "Don't!" She yelled but was too late to stop the yellow stream of energy from Giles' ring that intersected with the other power batteries.

"_**FREEDOM!"**_

"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" She yelled at the Watcher.

"I freed the one being that can possibly destroy the Judge." Wesley said.

"That thing is Parallax, the embodiment of fear itself." Spectrum explained. "That thing has killed millions of innocent people."

Wesley flew towards the entity and Giles looked down at the ground.

"What have I done?" He asked himself before flying after Wesley.

Wesley's flight towards the fear demon was halted as a yellow lasso was attached to his right ankle. He looked to see Giles pulling him back. Wesley created a simple sword construct with his ring and severed the yellow rope but was struck quickly by a blast of yellow energy. Before he could recover, Giles delivered a swift right hook to Wesley's jaw.

"What are you doing?" Wesley asked demanding an answer.

"Stopping you." Giles said. "You are not merging with that thing."

"You aren't either." Wesley said delivering a swift kick to Giles' left side. "I am a failure as a Watcher. You are a better Watcher than I could ever be and Buffy and Faith will need your help to survive in the future."

Knocking Giles to the ground with a mallet construct, Wesley flew up to the fear demon and grabbed it by the neck.

* * *

"**Faith, I'm still cold."**

Faith turned in midair to see her late Watcher, Diana, come towards her. The Green Lantern Vampire Slayer could also see a Black Lantern Gwendolyn Post flying towards her as well.

"**You let me die, Faith."** Diana said. **"I thought you cared."**

"**She killed me as well."** Gwendolyn said. **"Rather painful too."**

"**How about we share her heart?"** Diana suggested.

"**Delighted to."** Post replied.

Fear gripped at her as she backed away from the two Black Lanterns but found her ring hand have another ring hand wrapped around it from behind her.

"Let me help you help them rest in peace." Zarina said.

The loving embrace from the magician gave her the courage to fire her ring in a split energy blast at the two former Watchers. Coupled with Zarina's violet power ring, the two Black Lanterns were destroyed.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

Zarina gazed into her lover's face. "Are you okay, Faith?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Z." Faith said with a slight smile. "How many Black Lanterns are left?"

"Is a shit load a number?" Zarina asked with a grin.

"Hard to quantify." Faith replied.

"_**FREEDOM!"**_

Faith and Zarina turned to see Wesley and Giles fight each other. Wesley slammed Giles to the ground before flying up to a demon that Zarina recognized.

"How in the hell did they release Parallax?" Zarina asked.

"Who's Parallax?" Faith asked.

"The embodiment of Fear." Zarina replied.

"Shit." Faith said.

They were too late to stop Wesley from merging with the demon of fear and a menacing laugh could be heard as the yellow light from the merging died down. Getting a good look at Parallax, Zarina saw the demon of fear had taken his normal form that looked like Hal Jordan. Parallax laughed at the Judge.

"_**What are you suppose to be?"**_ Parallax asked.

"**I am the Judge."** The Black Lantern said in response.

"_**You are no Judge."**_ Parallax said ramming the Judge in the left side with a massive yellow green hammer construct. _**"You were a pathetic demon with illusions of invincibility and you're not even that anymore."**_

"**You only exist physically inside a human shell and that is your weakness." **The Black Lantern Judge replied. **"My power will destroy your shell."**

The Judge let out a stream of energy from its eyes that collided with Parallax. The fear demon began to laugh at the Black Lantern.

"_**Oh, that tickles."**_ Parallax said with another laugh. _**"Your powers have no effect on me."**_

Parallax grabbed the Judge by the demon's throat and pulled him into the air. A grin crossed his face as the two flew higher into the air.

"_**My powers work on you though."**_ Parallax said laughing again as he hurled the Judge towards the ground.

Before the Judge hit the street below, two massive yellow and green railroad spikes were embedded into the Black Lantern's chest. The demon Black Lantern looked up to see Parallax charging his left hand with yellow energy and his right with green energy.

"_**Time for you to be destroyed!"**_ Parallax yelled before blasting the Black Lantern with the charged energies.

_**{Connection..........Severed.}**_

Parallax laughed at the smoking crater that had once been the Black Lantern Judge. He turned his attention to the black field that surrounded Sunnydale. The only indication that one could see that the field existed was the strange and random shimmering that could be seen that indicated the field's presence.

"_**Time for me to leave."**_ Parallax said blasting the barrier with yellow and green energy. The field wavered but did not fall as the demon of fear thought it would. _**"Well, looks like I'll have to take out the Black Lanterns before I can go anywhere."**_

Green and yellow streams of energy raced away from Parallax like homing missiles striking every Black Lantern in the city. Explosions rocked Sunnydale as the Black Lanterns were destroyed.

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

_**{Connection Severed.}**_

* * *

Every member of every superhero team that was native to Earth waited outside the field watched as the field fell but were surprised when the first thing they saw was Parallax flying higher into the air. The demon of fear was quickly seen being restrained by several chains of various colors but was shaking off his pursuers as the energy construct chains began to snap from the strain. Superman focused his vision in to see who the ring wielders were. Batman, of course, was able to deduce who at least one of them were.

"Zarina's using a Star Sapphire power ring." The Dark Knight said.

The heroes charged in to help combat the embodiment of fear. Zarina pulled herself off the ground from where Parallax had thrown her. She looked up to see Parallax and Spectrum fire energy beams at one another which collided. Parallax's yellow beam and Spectrum's emerald colored one seemed evenly matched for a few moments before Parallax's beam began to win out. Beads of sweat began to form on Spectrum's face from the strain she was under.

"_**You could be so much more powerful than you are but I know what your deepest darkest fear is."**_ Parallax exclaimed. _**"You're afraid of the power. You're afraid of what might happen if you lose control."**_

The beams of energy detonated and Zarina knew without needing to look that Spectrum was out of the fight. She knew of another emotional entity besides Ion that could possibly fight Parallax on an even plane but she didn't think that she could possibly summon it. Her hand quickly became forced when she saw the fear entity grab hold of Faith's throat.

"_**As for you..."**_ Parallax said to Faith.

Acting quickly, Zarina slit her right wrist and used her blood to draw not only the symbol of the Star Sapphires but also a spell. _.rotaderP ,em ot emoC_

"I hope this works." Zarina said after healing her wrist. She pointed her power ring at the symbol. ".thgirf fo lluf dna tsol gnol straeh roF" Saying this backwards was rather difficult. ".thgiN tsekcalB ni enola esoht roF" ".thgif ruo nioj dna gnir rur tpeccA" Zarina hoped this would work. "!thgil teloiv htiw lla sreuqnoc evoL"

A violet energy beam hit the Star Sapphire symbol made with her own blood. The symbol glowed brightly and the magician knew that it had worked.

* * *

A violet energy blast collided with Parallax's chest forcing him to let got of Faith. She rubbed her throat as it did hurt from the fear entity's grip. Faith fired a green energy blast into Parallax's chest and turned in the direction the violet energy attack had came from and was shocked by what she saw. It was Zarina but she was wearing strange armor that looked like something a cross between the Themysciran armor she had seen pictures of, courtesy of Calypso, and the green armor that Parallax wore though her armor seemed to be made out of a violet crystal. It made her look rather menacing.

"_**Hey, Parallax!"**_ Zarina yelled at the fear entity. Faith noticed that Zarina's voice seemed layered like Parallax's voice was. _**"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"**_

Faith watched as Parallax and Zarina began to trade blows with energy blasts as well as physical attacks with energy constructs. She flew down to Zatanna who was standing next a Green Lantern.

"Zatanna, do you know what the hell Z's up to?" She asked.

"Somehow, she summoned the Predator here." The Green Lantern said.

It was obvious to Faith that the Green Lantern wasn't John Stewart. She liked the guy because of what Zarina had told her after she had met him and learned his identity. She also knew that it wasn't Guy as she had met him when Zarina took her out to Warriors on her birthday. This had to have been the other two Green Lanterns she had heard about. Judging from his age, she had an idea who it was.

"Predator, Hal?" She asked producing a construct similar to the alien hunter from the movies.

"Not like that though I've encountered them." Hal Jordan said. "Hollywood got a little too realistic there. This Predator is the Love Entity. It's in control, not Zarina."

"Like Parallax and Ion?" Faith asked receiving a nod from Hal. "Damn."

"_**Love will not defeat me, Predator!"**_ Parallax yelled blasting the Predator with more yellow and green energy.

"_**It will, demon."**_ Predator said creating multiple chains which were sent into Parallax's body. The entity screamed in pain. _**"Because love will tear you out of the Green Lantern you possess."**_

"_**RELEASE MEEEE!!!!"**_ Parallax screamed as he was torn away from Wesley.

Wesley's fall was halted when Giles caught him with a baseball glove construct as everyone's attention was turned to the Predator and its hostage, Parallax.

"_**Parallax, the last time you were captured, you were sealed within four power batteries of the Green Lantern Corps."**_ Predator said. _**"Let's see if I can do better."**_

Parallax screamed as the chains tore him into pieces. Power batteries being brought up in violet energy fields floated into the air and the chains began to deposit the pieces into the twenty eight power batteries that had appeared.

"_**Seven pieces for the green, seven pieces for the red, seven pieces for the violet, and seven pieces for the blue."**_ Predator stated. _**"Let's see him get out of that."**_

The power batteries disappeared and the Predator began to rise into the air. Zatanna glared at the entity that was possessing her daughter.

"Release her now!" She yelled up at it.

"_**No, I finally found that special somebody. Parallax had Hal Jordan. Lucy has Larfleeze. Ion has Sodom Yat and I have Zarina Zatara."**_ The Predator said smiling. _**"I like it here."**_

Drusilla flew over to the Predator. "But you can not stay there." She said to it. "You won't allow yourself to."

"_**I think I can."**_ Predator replied a little annoyed.

"You are the Love Entity, are you not?" Drusilla asked receiving a nod from the Predator. "Look into Faith's heart. Who do you see there? Then, look into Zarina's heart. Who do you see there?"

The Predator lowered her head and held out her hand to Drusilla who took it. Drusilla pulled slightly and Zarina was yanked free of the Love Entity. The Predator spared one last look at Zarina before flying away. Weakly, Zarina looked over to Drusilla.

"How did you free me?" Zarina asked.

"It was simple." Drusilla replied. "I made the Predator let you go."

The pair flew back down to the ground where Zarina was tackled by the Green Lantern Slayer. Kissing her girlfriend repeatedly, the Slayer seemed frantic and rather enthusiastic.

"Don't you ever fucking do that to me again!" She exclaimed between kisses.

"I'll try not to but I think Mom might try to kill me." Zarina said.

Faith released Zarina only to have Zatanna wrap her arms around her daughter. The embrace was rather strong.

"I'm so glad you're safe." Zatanna told her daughter.

"I am too." Zarina replied.

Giles pulled off the yellow power ring he had on and dropped it to the ground where it was destroyed by Jesse. Jenny had already transported Angel back to his home where his yellow ring would be destroyed as well. The former Watcher noticed the sun coming up over the horizon and smiled.

"That's a beautiful sight." He said to himself.


	16. Epilogue

****I DON'T OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR ANY OF THE DC COMICS CHARACTERS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS WORK OF FICTION. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER IS OWNED BY JOSS WHEDON AND MUTANT ENEMY. DC COMICS IS STILL OWNED BY THEMSELVES.***

Epilogue

Inside Zarina's home, a few of the members of Justice League Sunnydale were surprised to find out who exactly Hawkette and Warp were when the two heroes removed their masks.

"Aphrodesia?" Cordelia asked her friend confused before she looked at Warp. "Great, Wells is a speedster. So, Bang Babies?"

Aphrodesia shrugged her shoulders. "I'm one but Wells isn't." She said.

"I wore a green Flash costume on Halloween a couple of years ago." Andrew said noticing both Blue Bowman, Cordelia, and Zarina shivered remembering that night. "What did I say?"

Zarina nodded to Blue Bowman for the Sapphire Archer to explain. Blue Bowman removed his mask and both Aphrodesia and Andrew recognized him.

"Jonathon Queen, aren't you Oliver Queen's son?" The winged girl asked.

"Yah, but Halloween is a touchy subject for Zarina and me because we use to live here." Jonathon said. "I was your best friend, Andrew."

Andrew realized who Jonathon use to be. "Your parents were concerned when you disappeared." He said. "I guess you took it well."

"Lazarus pit altered my appearance to suit my altered genes." Jonathon explained.

Aphrodesia glanced over to Zarina and raised an eyebrow. "Xander, love what you done with your hair." She said.

Andrew's eyes bugged out from his head before he passed out. The green speedster fell to the floor with a thud.

"So, what are you going to do now Aphrodesia?" Zarina asked.

"I got accepted at NYU. What about you?" She asked. "Did you get to keep the ring?"

"Dru and Jenny took us to the different homeworlds of the Lantern Corps. Queen Aga'po let Joyce and me keep our rings though we don't plan on using them unless we need to. The Guardians took Faith's ring away from her though I think it might have had something to do with what she actually said to them." Zarina replied.

"What did she say?" Aphrodesia asked.

"You can shove that ring up your little blue asses." Zarina said with a laugh. "A few people laughed about that. Jesse stayed behind for training. Guy was a little spooked that Jesse's ring was his. Iota decided to stay with the Blue Lantern Corps for a while."

"What about Dru and Jenny?" The winged girl asked.

"They refused to take us to see the Indigo Tribe. I guess there has to be a reason for that." Zarina replied.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Drusilla traced patterns on Jason's naked chest. She was as unclad as he was as she was pulled in to kiss him. They were laying in bed after what Drusilla had termed as a 'victory party for two'. Jason Blood may have been alive for over a millennium but there was at least one thing that he had in common with normal men. He wasn't going to complain about the 'victory party for two'. In theory, he could complain about one thing but it was a very good kind of sore. A soreness that no sane straight man would complain about ever.

"Dru, anything you want to tell me?" He asked. He had noticed that something seemed to be bothering her.

"I don't think I deserved to keep my ring and staff." Drusilla said. "I'm still a monster despite what Lady Indigo said."

Jason grabbed a small mirror from off the night stand. "We've had this conversation before, Dru." He said giving her the mirror. "What do you see?"

She saw herself in the mirror which she tossed to the floor managing not to break the mirror. Drusilla kissed Jason lightly on the lips before beginning to trace down his body. She kissed him on the carotid artery as well as the main jugular vein. As the kisses went lower and lower on his body, a thought went through Jason's head.

_Good little Catholic girl my ass._ He thought to himself. _Makes me wonder if she was part nymph when she was turned._

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Willow was in shock at what she had recently learnt from the Sunnydale Police Department. Her parents' bodies had been found with their hearts removed from their bodies. From what they had told her, three other bodies had been found around their car that had apparently been Black Lanterns. The officer wouldn't have known that detail but Willow did. After the police left, she sank to the floor crying only to find herself wrapped up in someone's arms. She opened her eyes to see Zarina was the one holding her.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"Part of the ritual created an empathic bond between us." Zarina explained. "We'll know what the other is feeling. The reason you don't know what I'm feeling is that you haven't opened yourself up to the bond."

Willow closed her eyes and focused on the thought of feeling Zarina's emotions when she was quickly overwhelmed by what she felt. Her arms wrapped around Zarina and she held onto her tightly.

"You really feel that way, don't you." Willow said. "I had no idea."

"Trust me, Willow." Zarina replied. "I would have felt like this regardless of what had happened between us."

"Can we go somewhere else?" Willow asked. "I don't want to be here."

".esuoh s'yffuB ot su ekaT" Zarina said teleporting them to their friend's house.

Buffy, who was momentarily surprised, ran over and hugged her crying friend. Knowing that Willow knew how she felt, she walked into the kitchen of Casa de Summers to find Dawn and Joyce cooking breakfast. Dawn was rather happy to see Zarina.

"Hi." She said to the magician.

"Hello, Dawn." Zarina said before turning her attention to Joyce. "Madam Joyce Summers, I, Zarina Sindella Zatara, request permission to train your daughter, Dawn Marie Summers, in the arcane arts."

Joyce smiled. "Kinda formal, don't you think?" She asked.

Zarina shook her head. "Formality is best when dealing with the arcane, Mrs. Summers." She said taking off her top hat. Reaching into the hat, she pulled out a sheet of parchment and a feathery quill pen.

Dawn laughed. "Did you steal that from Dumbledore's desk?" She asked still laughing.

Without a pause, Zarina answered. "Yes." The answer caused Dawn to stare at the magician.

Joyce looked over the parchment. "This says that I'm not to argue if you show Dawn anything horrific?" She said questioning it. "Why would you show anything horrific?"

"Joyce, aren't students shown the dangers of what they are being trained to do?" Zarina asked. "Magic is something that is too often abused and I have to make certain that Dawn knows it. There is a hidden legal system that has jurisdiction over the supernatural and has for over fifteen thousand years."

"Why does that sound ominous?" Dawn asked.

"Because it is. While most won't admit it, they do have jurisdiction. Doctor Fate is a judge and I'm a prosecutor." Zarina explained pulling out a small vial from her hat. The contents of the vial seemed to be on fire. "This is something that I never want to use."

"What is it?" Dawn asked a bit spooked.

"Fiendfyre, magical fire that if not properly contained will consume all that it comes into contact with." Zarina said. "Fortunately, this vial is magically unbreakable. This is what they use if you are convicted of a high crime."

"You're right." Joyce said signing the parchment and handed it to Dawn. "Anything else I should know?"

Before Zarina could answer, the back door opened and a familiar robed individual walked into the kitchen. Dawn's jaw dropped when she saw herself standing in the kitchen. Her other self smiled at Zarina.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" She asked.

"Not yet." Zarina said. "What should we call you so that we don't get confused?"

The older version of Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "How about Ios?" She asked. "The native population called me it when I stayed on their planet a couple hundred years ago."

Dawn's eyes opened wide. "How far in the future are you from?" The soon-to-be apprentice asked.

"About a thousand years, give or take." Ios said. "Trust me, you don't want to know too much but..."

"But what?" Joyce asked.

"Get your head checked out, Mom." Ios said. "Get all the help you can because a botched surgery to remove a tumor kills you. I don't want to lose you."

Joyce and Dawn were shocked by the information while Zarina glared at Ios.

"Too much information can change the future." Zarina informed her.

"But yet, if you apply the changes as needed then you can expect a better result considering what I already know happened." Ios said. "It will work out better. Trust me and besides, you still need to tell your apprentice your big secret."

Zarina nodded. "And it is a doozy." She said.

"What's your secret?" Dawn asked. "Is it the fact that you're gay? That doesn't bother me."

"It isn't that." Zarina said taking a breath. "Technically speaking, I was born on October 31st 1997 because of a spell cast here in Sunnydale by Ethan Rayne. That night, Xander Harris wore a magician's costume from Ethan's shop."

Dawn appeared concerned. "Go on." She pleaded.

"That night, Ethan invoked True Chaos instead of the power of Janus. This is where things go screwy. While most people changed into generic characters like ghosts and goblins, Xander's costume was different because his top hat had been stolen from my mother's show. It was her top hat he had been wearing when the spell occurred." Zarina explained.

Dawn's eyes widened as she connected the pieces together. "Oh my god, you're..." She said.

Zarina nodded. "I was." She said. "You see, because of Zatanna being a _homo magi_, her soul was copied when the spell was invoked. When it ended, her copied soul and Xander's soul came together and I was born."

"But, why didn't you come back until the start of the school year?" Dawn asked.

"I was frightened, Dawn. I know that's funny to hear me say considering what you know I've faced. My biggest fear was coming back here and everyone that Xander had known would hate me." Zarina replied.

Dawn shook her head. "That's not true. You are Xander." She said.

Zarina shook her head back. "I am Xander but I'm not. I am Zatanna but I'm not." She replied. "There are parts of me that may remind you of both him and my mother because that is what makes up me. Willow tried to separate Xander from me and almost killed me in the process."

"So that's why Raven came to our house." Dawn said realizing the fact.

"That's not all, Dawn." Zarina said. "This may shock you but I'm obligated by that contract that was signed to tell you the truth when it matters as you are my student and I'm your teacher."

Before either Zarina could break the news to Dawn or Dawn ask her what the big secret was, Ios spoke up first. "You were created from Buffy's DNA by an order of monks to house a very powerful mystical artifact known simply as the Key. The Key is an artifact capable of opening up doorways between realities and that is the source of our magic." Ios said. "Memories were inserted into everyone who should know you and you were placed here as Buffy's little sister. I understand it sucks but I think you'd prefer hearing it from me than from a stranger. Willow's spell on Zarina accidentally deleted the memories Xander _might_ have had of you and that was how she found out and it was the inserted memories that caused Mom's tumor in the first place.."

Dawn fainted and fell to the ground followed soon after by Joyce and Zarina glared at Ios who shrugged her shoulders.

"I was trying to break it to them gently." Ios said.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The new recruit into the Sinestro Corps had only been in the pod for a fraction of a second before the pod had detonated ferociously taking out a good portion of the surroundings. Many members of the Sinestro Corps including the Corps' namesake stared at the smoking crater as a feminine shaped figure emerged from the smoke. They could see the woman was human or at least humanlike and had blood red hair. She laughed as she glowed with yellow energy.

"Fear, I can do that." She said with a smile.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Wesley drank the abysmal tea at the roadside diner he was at. He couldn't believe how stupid he had felt allowing himself to get possessed by that damned demon of fear. The former Watcher as well as former Green Lantern didn't even notice when a woman in a very expensive business suit sat next to him.

"Wesley Wyndham Price, my name in Lana Lang and I have a proposition for you." She said.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Being already dead, ditching the red power ring didn't kill Spike. It felt great to wear the ring but it felt wrong as well. The hairy bloke, Alpha, had flown off into space but he wasn't concerned about that. He remembered a legend about another ring that would be perfect for him though.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

A copy of the Daily Planet was pulled out of a newspaper machine. When unfolded, a large picture of multiple colored ring wielders could be seen fighting the Black Lanterns.

_**The Blackest Night**_

_**Story By Lois Lane & Clark Kent**_

_**Photos By Daniel Osbourne**_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Discord was not pleased having been booted from her hideout by the traitorous avian bitch. Warren was busy showing her some project of his that had him excited but she was pouting and nothing would disturb her.

"How would like an army of loyal minions to pluck a certain avian adversary of yours?" He asked.

She quickly stopped pouting and looked up at Warren as a white skinned man in his twenties was brought into the room. He was in excellent shape and fell to the ground with a thud when Warren pulled out a nickel-plated fifty caliber Desert Eagle and fired it three times into the man's chest.

"What the fuck was that for?" Discord yelled angrily.

"Just watch." Warren said pointing down to the fallen man.

The man's wounds healed up and he stood back up at attention as if nothing had occurred. Discord looked over at Warren who was smiling.

"This, my dear, is the final result of my 'drug' that I call Push." Warren said. "Push is actually a 'drug' that consists of a swarm of nano machines. These nanites not only induce symptoms that make the user believe they are under a narcotic but greatly enhance the user to superhuman levels in terms of speed, strength, reaction time, healing, etc. Over time, these nanites build up until you get what is before you now. A metahuman soldier who will do whatever it is told."

"Any weaknesses I should know about?" Discord asked.

"One big one." Warren said before pointing the gun at the man's hand and pulling the trigger. The body fell to the floor and Discord rolled her eyes.

"One that isn't fucking obvious you smart ass." She informed him.

"Then, not really since I doubt any heroes would pull that particular move." Warren said. "In three months time, Push will be in every city in America. In a year, you'll have your army."

To be continued in...

The Magician's Initiative

Author's End Notes: Well, that's it for Enter The Magician. I guess I need to work on The Magician's Initiative now. If anyone is interested, they may write the Angel series storyline of this universe.


End file.
